Torn:The 23rd Hunger Games
by finnickandannie4ever
Summary: Torn from their families. Torn from their friends. Torn from their lives. 23 lives lost and 1 haunted forever. Let the 23rd annual Hunger Games begin!
1. Tribute list

**District 1 (Luxory)**

**Male- Stephen Talcott 16 **

**Female- Natalie Warner 17 **

**District 2 (Masonry)**

**Male- Kaleb Tides 17 **

**Female- Sia Delaria 18 **

**District 3 (Technology)**

**Male- Sawyer "Sparkie" Coleman 17 **

**Female- Leigha Marx 14 **

**District 4 (Fishing)**

**Male- Kai Rose 16 **

**Female- Towner Hills 17 **

**District 5 (Power)**

**Male- Reiyn Tucker 16 **

**Female- Ariana Dixon 15 **

**District 6 **

**Male- Sebastian Polar 16 **

**Female- Libra Jonea 13 **

**District 7 (Lumber)**

**Male- Drake Martin 12 **

**Female- Lily Moore 16 **

**District 8 (Textiles)**

**Male- Scorpio Rider 16 **

**Female- Maria Kingston 15 **

**District 9 (Grain)**

**Male- Kole Darwin 13 **

**Female- Scarlet Red 16 **

**District 10 (Livestock)**

**Male- George Van Loon 14 **

**Female- Cecily Rose 18 **

**District 11 (Agriculture)**

**Male- Thomas Winter 14 **

**Female- Chesh Shira 15 **

**District 12 ( Mining)**

**Male- Fredrick Kennedy 18 **

**Female- Natalya Parak 14**

**ok so these are the tributes that will be in the games. you will like them i promise ;)**

**~Kendyl~**


	2. Districts 1 through 3 reapings

Ello! May I present to you districts 1-3's reaping's! My plan is to write the reaping with 3 districts a chapter! So here we are!

~Kendyl~

District 1 (Luxury) Natalie Warner 17 POV

"Mother!" I screech at the top of my lungs, "where is my freaking dress?" Great, just great. Reaping starts in an hour and I can't find my dress.

"Natalie calm down I'm sure its here somewhere," My older sister Meagen states. "Ah, here it is." She says holding up my white strapless dress.

"Give it to me!" I yell as I attempt to grab the dress from her hands.

"God Natalie, here," she says as she hands it over.

I snatch it up, and immediately throw it on. See today is the day I shall volunteer. My family thinks I'm crazy. Even my boyfriend Aaron does. I'll show them. I'll win this thing and become rich and famous.

"Meagennnnn french braid my hairrr!" She sighs heavily, but walks over. I feel her pull and twist as she obliges to my request.

"There you go Princess." She rolls her eyes, walking through my bedroom door and down stairs.

As soon as she is gone, I examine myself in the mirror. The dress is white, and comes to a rest just above my knees. Adorned with a black bow around the waist, the dress is simply breathtaking. I pair it with a pair of black heels, and of course my token, an aquamarine gemstone ring. It was my grandmothers. I adore it.

Then of course there's the other gemstone on my body. My Emerald green eyes. I cherish them. Unlike my boring blue eyed family I got these puppies. With my black curly hair and tan complection they simply light up.

"Natalie, sweetheart, get down here and eat breakfast." My mother calls up to me. I sigh, look in the mirror a final time, and walk down the stairs.

Stephen Talcott 16 POV

"Stephen hurry it up!" my brother yells.

"Just a minute!" I yell back at him.

My brother is a previous victor of the games, along with my sister. They're the whole reason I'm even volunteering. When new victors come in they take away the limelight from the previous family that has won. I'm prepared to put that light back on the Talcott family.

I look at myself one last time. My blue dress shirt with matching blue tie goes quite nicely with my grey waistcoat and trousers. I fidget with my token, a diamond pendant, from my dads company. My hair is combed neatly over, showing off my peculiar eyes. One of my eyes is blue while the other is green. Then there's the scar. It runs down my neck. I got it from a training accident.

"Stephen! Let's go!" This time it's my sister. I quickly race downstairs. I forgot that my siblings have to mentor.

"Finally." My brother, Max, says clearly annoyed.

"Let's get going." My sister, Amethyst, says just as annoyed.

We all wave a good bye to our parents and walk out of the door. We arrive at the square approximately 5 minutes later. My siblings wave me a good bye and take their spots in the mentors area. Just as I slip in with the other 16 year old boys Melanie, our escort, starts her spiel. I hear every one groan as she does. She quickly wraps it up like any other year.

"Is everyone ready for the 23rd annual Hunger Games?" Everyone cheers.

"Ladies First!" Her heels click as she walks to the reaping bowl.

"Crystal Clearstone" a twelve year old starts to walk to the stage

"I volunteer!" a short for age 17 year girl announces. She full on sprints to the stage

"Your name dear?" Melanie asks, her clown like face lighting up in a smile

"Natalie Warner." The girl says evilly smirking at the end.

"Now for the boys!" She crosses to the other side of the stage. "Chase Diamond!"

"I volunteer!" I say before any one who can figure out who Chase is. I walk to the stage

"And you may be?" Melanie asks me.

"Stephen Talcott" I answer as I hear Natalie groan.

"Ooh! Another Talcott volunteer I see." I nod.

"Ladies and gentlemen Natalie Warner and Stephen Talcott. Your volunteers for the 23rd Hunger Games!"

District 2 (Masonry) Sia Delaria 18 POV

I smooth out the wrinkles in my dress, also adjusting the small silver rose over my left breast. Hopefully all the girls will get the message seeing me in the blood red dress. This is my year. I will avenge my sister and win these games. My thoughts play that on a continual loop as I sit waiting on time.

My sister was reaped when I was 5 and was the first to die. My mother killed herself shortly after. With time I began to forget my sisters death and my feelings. By the age of 7 I knew I wanted to be in the Hunger Games. So my father pushed me and pushed me until one day I snapped. The pressure was too much and I tried to kill him. At least he keeps his distance. Every time he's comes around me I lash out on him. So at the age of 18 I Sia Delaria am volunteering. I slump down on the chair. I feel quite lonely here. I have no friends either. They would distract me from my goals. With my wits gathered I stand up and walk out the door heading towards town.

Kaleb Tides 17 POV

"Oh Kaleb" my girlfriend, Delilah, says fixing my hair. She's scared for me. See my father is forcing me to volunteer for the Hunger Games this year. I turn to look into her beautiful dark eyes. She looks me in my deep brown one's. "Delilah, stop worrying about me" "How can I not? Your going to the Hunger Games for heaven's sake!" "Delilah, sweetheart, calm down." she breathes "I'm sorry it's just.." she doesn't have to say anything else. I think back to when I first met her. I had started training at the age of ten right after my brother snapped his neck in a training accident. I immediately was drawn to the swords. At the age of 14 I tripped on my feet and fell on my face. Delilah had seen and laughed at me. We soon were friends. My father disapproved, though this didn't stop us. At the age of 15 we fell in love. So today when she's saying goodbye I'm proposing to her. With these things in mind I find myself smiling. "Kaleb, we need to go." I nod knowingly and follow her out the door and into town.

Sia Delaria 18 POV

I hush forms over the crowd as the escort says their usual crap. When he's finished he says, "Ladies first!" He digs his hand in the bowl and says the name, "Delilah Snow" before Delilah can even make a move I shout, "I volunteer!" and race to the stage. The escort asks my name. "Sia Delaria" He moves to the boy's bowl. "George West" a lanky 13 year old starts to come forward. He does not get far though, before a boy yells, "I volunteer!" and takes to the stage. Again the escort asks his name to which he responds, "Kaleb Tides" then the escort announces our names once more and herds us into the Justice Building.

District 3 (Technology) Leigha Marx 14 POV

"You look beautiful Lei!" my best friend Aviva exclaims. I look at my self. I'm in a simple white sun dress that stops at my knees and white flats. What's so stunning? "Well, you look much better" and she does. She's in a pink flannel gown that stops at her knees and pink pumps. She rolls her eyes. "Don't forget this!" she says slipping a lime green wire ring onto my finger. She has a matching one their our friendship token's. Though it also would be either of ours token if we were to go into the Hunger , for either of us its highly unlikely. We don't struggle to put food on the table at all. I hug Aviva. I can't imagine losing her. She's my only friend because I'm like major shy. In fact I think of her as the sister I never had. Bark! Bark! "Ashleigh, seriously?" I ask my little white dog. I get a bark as a response. Aviva snickers. "Ashleigh, Aviva and I have to go to the reaping. I'll see in a bit" and with that Aviva and I walked out the door towards the plaza.

Sawyer "Sparkie" Coleman 17 POV

"Sawyer! Give them back!" my little sister Stacey complains. I am currently holding up her shoes above my head. "What's the magic word?" she sighs and says, "please" "ok, here you go" I say giving her the shoes. My brother, Matt snickers. "Ah Stacey one day you will learn just to kick him in the shins" I roll my eyes at him. "Kids ten minutes!" our mother says. I straiten the tie on my crisp navy suit. Matt does the same on his grey one. Matt is 14 while Stacey is 11. One more year then my baby sister can be reaped. I can't imagine. Then there's Matt. Who can be reaped today. I push those thoughts from my mind, grab my siblings hands, and walk to the plaza for reaping.

Leigha Marx 14 POV

While Willow's talking, I'm clutching to Aviva's hand. I'm a nervous wreck. I'm thinking of all the possibility's when I feel Aviva let go of my hand. I turn to question her but notice everyone is staring at me. What now? Only when Willow speaks do I know, "Is Leigha Marx here?" "Y-yes" I say in a shakey voice. I'm twitching uncontrollably and my brown hair is a mess. I walk up the steps and face the crowd just as Willow says the second name, "Sawyer Coleman!" The name lingers in the air. A 17 year boy mounts the stage. There's a little girl wailing behind the roped of section. There's also a 14 year boy doing the same. I look to Aviva. She's clearly holding back the tears. "May I present to you your two tributes Leigha Marx and Sawyer Coleman!" There's stale applause. My last thought before going into the building was I hope Aviva likes dogs.

That was district's 1-3's reaping's! Tell me what cha think!

~Kendyl~


	3. Districts 4 through 6 reapings

**Hello there! Time for 4-6's reaping's! Enjoy!**

**~Kendyl~**

**District 4 (Fishing) Towner Hills 17 POV**

"You wouldn't?" my twin brother, Tomas asks me. "Not with what happened to Caylee no." He just asked me if I were to be reaped would I join the careers. The obvious answer would be no. He of all people should know I hate them after the pack turned on our cousin in the 15th games. After that it is our duty to look after our baby cousin, Twila after all. "Point" I roll my eyes and turn to fix my hair into its usual up do. I adjust my emerald blouse and flatten my white skirt. Lastly I hook on my two pearl necklace. I found the pearls in a couple of clams my dad and other brother, Gilland caught. We own a shellfish stand in the market. Its just enough to get by. Tomas and I are the only two eligible for the reaping. Gilland has just turned 20 so he's been out for two years now. Tomas and I still have a year to go after today's reaping. Having been distracted I loose my grip on my honey blonde hair and it tumbles down. Tomas laughs. "I didn't know I was that distracting" I playfully slap him on the arm "Not even close" I say bringing my hair back up to its previous state. I turn and fix Tomas' dress shirt. He fiddles with his rope bracelet. I hear a knock at the door. "Come in!" Thomas and I say at the same time. Its Coron. My heart skips a beat. He's dressed in a sea green dress shirt and black dress pants. Oh how I wish we could be more than friends. He helps my brother and I run the stand. Alas I've been friend-zoned. "Ready?" Coron asks us. We nod and make our way to the square.

**Kai Rose 16 POV**

"Mia! Get down here!" I call up to my sister. "Coming Kai!" she says sliding down the banister. I shake my head "I'm just waiting for the day you slip and fall off that." Mia sticks out her tongue. "But that's what little sisters are supposed to do. Make their big brothers nervous" "I'm not nervous I just waiting to die laughing" This time I get an eye roll "whatever" she mumbles walking past me. I follow her. She's in front of the mirror. Shocker. She turns to me, " Kai! Button up your shirt!" "Nah" I say pushing her out of the way. "Hey!" she exclaims shoving me back. We break out into a shove war. I win. She scoffs and walks off. I hear the front door open. "You coming or what?" "Yeah yeah give me a sec" I say smoothing out my pants. I walk right past Mia and out the door. "Your welcome" she grumbles. So I walk to the square with an extremely ticked off 14 year old girl.

**Towner Hills 17 POV**

After they prick my finger I wave a goodbye to my brother and Coron. As soon as I am in my spot I turn my attention to the stage where Minerva is currently talking. We watch the video about the dark days in silence. After it's over I meet Coron eyes he meets mine and smiles. Im filled with bliss. Though its short lived when Minerva says the girl's name because it sounded like Towner Hills. Oh god, it was. My suspicion is proved true when I turn to see every girl in District 4 staring at me. So I throw on a smile and walk to the stage. No one volunteers. Minerva does not even get to say the boys name because some one volunteers. Minerva asks his name to which he responds, " Kai Rose" I see a bunch of girls swoon. Oh it's the Kai Rose. Every girls dream, but mine. Now he's my district partner. Great just freaking great.

**District 5 (Power)** **Ariana Dixon 15 POV**

I stare at my perfect reflection. My short red dress that stops mid thigh, six inch high heels, a ruby necklace, and my deceased sister's charm bracelet. My sister died when I was ten in the Hunger Games. My parents were never the same. So at the age I went to live with my uncle in his house in the victor's village. He trained me if I was ever to be reaped. He did a fine job. I feel ready as can be. With my uncles smarts and my amazing looks I can win these things. I walk into the kitchen. I see scrambled eggs and toast waiting there for me. I pour my self a glass of orange juice and sit and eat my meal. When I am finished I place my empty plate and glass in the sink. I walk back to the mirror. I look at my blood red hair and try and decide what to do with it. I decide to leave it down. I brush back through it and set the brush down. I put on some lip gloss and look into the mirror. I look perfect. With that I call goodbye to my uncle and walk out the door.

**Reiyn Tucker 16 POV**

Zap! I pull my hand back. Stupid electricity. I put my contraption to the side. Oh how I wish my parents were here. My mother was literatly fried to death at the power plant and my dad was turned into an avox. I don't want to talk about why. I guess im lucky though. I had someone to take me in instead of having to go to the community home. My adoptive parents are great. They were close friends to my parents. It was horrible for them to. None the less they gave me a bed to sleep in and food to eat. I could not ask for more. I throw on the nicest clothes I own which happens to be a pair of denim pants and a thermal shirt. I slip my miniture rubiks cube in my pocket because who knows what's going to happen? I could be picked and die in the first minute of the games. I have no clue how this is going to play out. Click! This sounds means that my rat trap had caught one of those bad boys. Sure enough there sit a rat dead in my trap. I open a window and fling its lifeless body out. My rusty colored eyes watch it land. I close the window and climb up the basement steps. I walk straight out the front door towards the reaping square.

When I arrive at the square its already packed. I sigh letting the peacekeepers prick my finger and walk over to the 16 year old age group. The escort says their speech quickly as if were running late. Knowing district 5... we probably are. So right after the video ends our escort digs their hand in the girls bowl and announces, "Ariana Dixon!" She emerges from the 15 year old girls and mounts the stage. The escort asks for volunteers but of coarse there is none. So the escort digs their hand into the boys bowl and says, " Reiyn Tucker" I shrug and walk to the stage. Once again the escort asks for volunteers and again there is none. With that the reapings of district 5 are officially over.

**District 6 (Transportation) Libra Jonea 13 POV**

"Libra honey come here" my mom says to me. "Coming mother" I say walking into her room "close your eyes!' I do "andddd open!" in front of me is a brand new brown dress. Its certainly a surprise. We barely have enough money to put food on the table and I get a new dress. "Oh mother" I say embracing her "Thank you so much" "your welcome" I take the dress back to my room and put it on. I also choose a pair of worn brown sandals and pick a faded magenta ribbon to put in my hair. I brush through my short blond hair and do a half up half down style. I tie the ribbon around the mini ponytail that I have just made. I look at my self in the mirror. The outfit brings out my blue eyes and my pale freckles that dominate my face. I put some balm on my lips that were starting to become chapped. I slip on my mothers wedding ring. My father skipped out on us when I was younger. My mom was going to throw the ring out but I insisted that I wanted it. So now here it is. I make my bed then I walk into the kitchen. I open a cabnet and find some mint leaves. I pop one in my mouth. I call a goodbye to my mother and I head out.

**Sebastian Polar 16 POV**

"Sebastian!" my name being said brings me back to reality. "I asked you a question... are you nervous?" my co-worker Jess asks me. It dawns on him she's talking about the reaping " I uh yea I guess" "You Guess? YOU GUESS! This is the Hunger Games were talking about not your little fantasy land!" "I-Im sorry..." "What ever" she says standing up and leaving. I sigh embarrased. She's right this is the Hunger Games. This is the cruel reality we live in. I get up and walk back to my house. I walk into my room and strip out of my work clothes. I put on my dads old red dress shirt, my brown dress pants, and a pair of dress shoes. I slip my father's golden button into my shirt pocket. I attempt to make my hair presentable. I fail. Sighing I walk out of my house once more. I take a seat on the rock in the front yard. I drift off into my fantasy land once again. "Sebastian! Again really?" its Jess again. "Huh what's going on?" "Reaping amd hurry up or we'll be late" and with that I Jess and I walk to reaping.

**Libra Jonea 13 POV**

I stand there frozen in my place. A meer 5 seconds ago I was picked. No freaking way! This can't be happening! Someone shoves me. This gets me going. I walk to the stage. Then some guy named Sebastian gets picked. Oh god, he looks completely spaced out. Perfection.

**I love reviews so... Please Review!**

**~Kendyl~**


	4. Districts 7 through 9 reapings

**Hello again! Districts 7-9 reaping's! **

**~Kendyl~**

**District 7 (Lumber) Lily Moore 16 POV**

"Liv! Stop screaming at Peter for one second and let me fix your hair!" I say to my little sister Liv. "But Peter stole my ribbon!" I sigh inwardly "Peter give her back the ribbon" "Nah, I don't feel like it." "PETER! Give Liv her ribbon so were not late for reaping!" "Fine" he says handing it to her. She immediately runs to me. "Pop a squat little one" I say motioning to the chair I set up in front of the mirror. She does. I make a single french braid down her head. I tie the ribbon at the end. Liv is only 10 so she isn't eligible for reaping yet. However Peter is 14 so he is. I look out for my siblings. So im more worried about Peter than I am myself. Our mother died giving birth to Liv so we are stuck with only our father. He works any chance he gets sometimes not coming home for days at a time. So we basically have no father either. So at the age of 6 I became the head of the house. Liv jump out of the chair and stands in front of me. "How do I look?" she says twirling in a circle. "Fabulous!" I say in my best Capitol accent. She giggles. "Well, how do I look?" I say motioning to my plain purple dress. "Hmm twirl for me sweetheart" she says twisting her finger in a circle. I twirl. "You look... Perfect!" she exclaims throwing her hands up. We laugh uncontrollably. Peter looks at us as if we are insane. Im sure we look like it. By the time were done we are on the floor and my brown hair is every where. So I grab the brush and run through my hair. Again. "Oh! Lily close your eyes!" I look at her strangely but do as im told. "Hold out your hand" I do. "Now open!" In my hand is what appears to be a pin shaped like a lily. Bad pun Liv but the pin is very pretty indeed. "Wow, thank you so much Liv, I love it" I say giving my sister a hug. She beams at me. "Peter and I saw it in the market and I knew I wanted to get it for you!" I smile at her and turn to do my hair. I put it in two low ponytails on either side of my head. I take a purple ribbon and tie a bow on the top of my head. I take the bow and shift it to the back part of my head resulting in a ribbon headband. I turn to my siblings. "Ready?" they nod and we all shuffle out of the door.

**Drake Martin 12 POV**

"Mom no let me get it." I tell my mother handing her her book. When I was five my mom became disabled. So ever since then I have looked after her. She means the world to me. My father works in the lumber yard to provide for our family though none the less I still have to take tesserae. So at the age of 12 my name is in there 6 times. It's a small price to pay to make sure our stomachs are relatively full. I button up my blue dress shirt and smooth out my way to short dress pants. I comb over my short brown hair and grab my fob watch. I flip open the top and stare at the picture inside. It's a family photo. It's a great picture really. We all have on our award winning smiles on. We look super happy. If only we could go back. My dad taught me everything I know but now I barely see him. "Honey!" my mom calls "you better get going you don't want to be late!" and with my mother words I head out the door.

**Lily Moore 16 POV**

Peter and I watch Liv go take a spot behind the reaping ropes. Then Peter and I go our separate ways. I stand with the other nervous 16 year old girls. We get a new escort this year. Joy. She goes on and on about the dark days and the rebels and blah blah blah. I tune her out. Only when she announces ladies first do I listen, "Our female tribute this year is... Lily Moore!" Ok was not expecting that one. I take a deep breath and walk to the stage. "Now for the boy's!" how can she be excited for this? Capitol freak. "Our male tribute is... Drake Martin!" A twelve year old. Are you freaking kidding me? No one's gonna volunteer? Poor kid. He's extremely thin too. Tesserae kid. The escort announces our names once more and we are ushered in the Justice Building.

**District 8 (Textiles) Maria Kingston 15 POV**

Thud! This is the sound meaning I have successfully landed my back hand spring. Luckily there's no one around to call me freak today. They call me this because I taught my self acrobatics. I mean I needed something to do besides housework. My parents forced me to do the housework. I guess its fair. They work all day and probably don't want to clean the house afterwards. So since I was little I've been cooking and cleaning all day. I needed a break from the routine. So I taught my self acrobatics and for this im a "freak". Whatever. I walk into my house and run straight to my room. I look through my closet. Being from district 8 I have like endless clothes. I settle on a long ocean blue dress. I also choose a pair of blue flats. I comb through my long, dark brown hair. I decide to braid it back. I braid a ribbon into it and tie the ends in a bow at the end. I also put an Alice band in my hair. My grey eyes sparkle. I walk into the kitchen. I wash the dishes that were dominating the sink. I dry them off and put them in the appropriate cupboard. I turn to the laundry basket. Its barely has any thing in it. I shrug walking over to it. I grab the washboard and clothes and walk towards the wash bin. I fill it and put some soap in. I scrub the clothes until my fingers hurt. I walk outside and hang the clothes on the clothing line. With the last clip I walk back inside. I stand for a moment trying to figure out what to do next. I realize I should probably get going. To reaping that is. So that's what I do.

**Scorpio Rider 16 POV**

"Scorpio have you seen my glasses?" my grandfather asks me. "No" "Well, your helpful." I sigh looking for the glasses. I've lived with my grandpa since I was little. My parents died in a factory fire. They had stayed behind to get everyone out of the building safely. Except themselves. So I helped my grandpa around the house then at the age of 12 I started to work. Helped me build up some muscle. Lifting the large spools of thread. Not the small ones but the huge ones you put on the huge machines in the factory. "Found them!" I say holding up the glasses. "Give em ere boy" my grandpa says motioning towards him. I hand them over. He puts them on "That's better." he looks at my clothes. "That what you wearin to reaping boy?" I look down. Im in denim pants and a loose t-shirt. I should probably change. "No" I say walking 5 steps into my room. I settle on a red smart shirt and grey trousers. My black hair looks fine so I keep it the way it is. I fiddle with the wooden bracelet my dad gave to me. It came from district 7. My dad found it in the market one day and got for me. It's the only thing I have to remember him. "Boy! Get your hind end to reaping before I kick it there!" On the happy note I walk to reaping.

**Maria Kingston 15 POV**

I stand with the other 15 year old girls and try and ignore them calling me a freak. Do they really have nothing better to do? As much as I hate to say it I hope one of them gets picked. "Maria Kingston" Frick I jinxed it. I groan and walk to the stage. Greatttt. Just greattt. "Scorpio Rider" a muscular 16 year old emerges from the crowd. I. Am. Screwed.

**District 9 (Grain) Scarlet Red 16 POV**

"Oo lala" my best friend, Tara, says. "What?" "I see you got your best clothes on!" she says mockingly. Im dressed in a leaf green t-shirt, camo pants, and combat boots. I hate the Capitol and its stupid games. "Well, think of it as my personal rebellion! Not dressing up for slaughter!" Tara rolls her eyes. She's dressed in a cream sun dress and brown sandals. "Good luck with that Scar." "Im braiding your hair!" so I let her. I love my hair. It's a bright red which goes nicely with my green eyes. "Ow!" I say as Tara pulls my hair. "Sorry" she says her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Your forgiven." I say with just as much sarcasm in my voice. "Done!" Tara says. "Thanks now you." "Ok!" she says sitting down with a thud. I laugh. I do a water fall braid mostly because my braids aren't top notch. Anyway in 3 minutes I was finished. "What's the time?" Tara asks. I smirk. "Time for you to get a watch." she narrows her eyes "Im serious" "So am I" She sighs. I get an idea. "The reaping started 20 minutes ago" Her eyes go big and she shoots up "WHAT! Lets go go go go go go" I die laughing. "R-r-reaping s-should j-just be starting" I say pulling myself together. Tara opens the door "Come on" she says and follow her to the plaza.

**Kole Darwin 13 POV**

"Shh baby girl calm down" I tell my little sister Cami. She's been crying for an hour straight. Cami just turned 3 two weeks ago. I love her to death. Cami (short for chamomile) looks just like mom. My mom died when I was 11 after a field fire. I had nightmares for weeks. So we live with our father. Who's now a drunk. So Cami's all I got left. "What's wrong?" I ask her "I got a booboo" I stifle a laugh "A booboo eh?" She nods. "Show your big brother where." she points to her elbow. I give it a kiss. "Better?" she smiles and nods throwing her little arm around my neck. "I have to go get ready." I tell her "for what?" "Reaping" "what's that?" "Don't worry bout it ok?" "ok!" and with that I retreat to my bedroom. I put on an orange and yellow plaid dress shirt and tan pants. I also throw on my wheat bracelet. I make my bed and gather up my dirty clothes. I deposit them in the whicker basket right outside my room. "Im hungry!" Cami fusses. "Ok ok give me a second!" I say looking in the cupboard. I produce a piece of bread "Here" I say handing it to her "Thank you!"she says taking it greedily. I shake my head and ruffle her hair. I glance at the clock. Crap! Im late! I run out the door calling a goodbye to Cami over my shoulder.

**Scarlet Red 16 POV**

Im currently laughing. Tara has her eyes crossed and is mouthing all the words our escort is saying. Leave it to Tara to make people laugh on a day like this. "Scarlet Red!" Tara immediately stops. She starts to mouth what but im already walking. My face is screwed up in confusion. How is this happening! This has got to be a sick sick sick joke. Please tell me it is. Maybe a "just kidding! Its so and so" but no im a tribute in these sick games. I just catch the boys name. Kole Darwin or something like that. He looks horrified. You and me both buddy. Were told to shake hands. His are actually shaking. Poor guy. I shake his and give him a reassuring squeeze. Our names are announced once more and with one more glance at the crowd Kole and I walk into the slaughter house.

**There should be the last of the reaping's tomorrow and after that goodbyes! Review please!**

**~Kendyl~**


	5. Districts 10 through 12 reapings

**Ello! Ok districts 10-12! Enjoy! **

**~Kendyl~**

**District 10** **(Livestock) Cecily Rose 18 POV**

"Tanith calm down" I tell my brother's daughter. Its her first reaping today. "But what if I get chosen?" I sigh. "Tanith, that's a big what if. Don't worry about it" Im on the opposite side of the fence. Its my last reaping today. One more kid set off towards certain death and I can finally take a small breath. Though there's still Tanith to worry about. "10 minutes ladies!" my sister in-law calls up to us. I live with my brother. When I was 13 my mom had been cooking dinner and she turned away and the fire got out of hand. The whole house burned down. My parents did not make it out. So that day when I had came home from school and where my house should have been there's ashes I went to live with my brother and his family. We also had a sister once. Once. She died in the 17th games. I hate the Capitol for it. So when the mayors daughter was talking up the Capitol I snapped. We got into a horrible argument. I was severely punished. A public whipping and beat down. I have a scar to prove it too. It runs from th corner of my left eye down to my jaw. Anyway back to Tanith. She's currently trying to get the reaping off her mind. Which for Tanith means picking out my outfit for reaping. "This one!" she exclaims holding up a knee length black gown. "Ok, give it here." she gladly hands it over. I throw it on. It was my mothers when she was little. Its been adjusted over the years because I could wear it when I was 13. In fact it's the same dress I wore home from school that day. I slip on my mothers eternity ring. It's a white-gold ring with tiny topaz's inlaid in it. Tanith insists on brushing through my hair for me. I let her. My hair is long, flaming red, and wavy. I love it. Tanith finishes brushing and I decide to leave it down. "Want to go meet Blaine with me?" I ask her. She nods her head in approval. Blaine is my best friend. He's 18 like me and we both work at the same cattle ranch. I throw on black flats and head out with Tanith. We reach the old oak in 5 minutes. Blaine's there leaning against its trunk. "Hey girl's" he says watching us approach. He winks at Tanith. I fell a pang of jealousy. Although its stupid because Tanith is only 12 and Blaine doesn't roll that way. I've liked Blaine ever since we met but I've always been to afraid to tell him how I feel. "What's up Blaine?" Tanith asks him. "The sky" Tanith rolls her eyes. "Real original" He smirks. He turns to me. "You ready for this to be over?" I nod "So ready" he smiles the smile that makes me want to simply melt. "Well then, let's get going shall we?" "Yes" and with this we all walk side-by-side to the reaping.

**George Van Loon 14 POV**

"Whoa!" I tell my horse, Farmer pulling back on the reigns. I hop off him and lead him into his stable. "See you later bub" I say before shutting the barn doors. I walk across the field to the ratty farm house I call home. "Hey sweetie." my mom greets as I walk in the door. "Hey mom." "I laid out your reaping clothes, they're on your bed" "Thanks" I say opening the "attic" door and pulling out the ladder. I climb up the ladder. I look to my bed. My mom has laid out a white dress shirt with khakis. I quickly throw it on. I climb back down the ladder and shut the door. I go back to where my mom was. She looks up from whatever it was she was doing. "What's up sweetie?" she asks. "I'm well nervous." "Oh come on, your names only in their 3 times!" "It only takes one mother." she purses her lip. It's the cruel truth though. One slip and your in the games. In district 10 its like a one way ticket to your death. We have what 2 victors? Yes two. I guess it could be a bit worse. 12 only has one. I guess that's a bit worse. "Just try to not to worry about." my mom says a bit hopefully. Yeah like that's gonna happen. Try not to think about the possibility you could be picked as a piece in the Capitol's cruel games. Uh huh I'll get right on that mother. I dare not voice these opinions to my mother however in fear she might break down. My mothers a very emotional person. My father however, is the complete opposite. He would yell at me to stop being a big baby and man up. Whatever. My father's not even here to help out. No. Here cares more about his job than he does his family. My mom is saying something and I realized I've tuned out. "Sorry. What was that?" she sighs "I said you better get going to reaping." "Yeah, ok" I say and walk out the front door.

**Cecily Rose 18 POV**

My heart stops. Tanith was just reaped. This can't be happening. "No!" I shout. "I volunteer!" a hush forms over the crowd. No one ever volunteers in our district. "I volunteer in Tanith's place!" I yell running up to the stage. I take her spot on the stage. She's screaming at me. Calling me an idiot and asking me why I did it. Why did I do it? I did it because if I didn't I could never live with myself. "George Van Loon!" A fourteen year old walks to the stage. Our escort announces our names once more and leads us into the Justice Building. Right there I make a silent vow to win these things. For Tanith.

**District 11 (Agriculture) Chesh Shira 15 POV**

I almost call for my mom. Almost. Its actually quite stupid considering she died 10 years ago. I just can't help myself. She would know how to help me but she's not here and she's never coming back. Pushing my mother from my mind I try and decide on a reaping dress. My family is one of the richest in my district so I have to many dresses then I'd like to admit. I settle for a plain white one with a v-neck and an olive sash around my stomach. I finish the outfit with a pair of white pumps. I hear a soft knock at my door. "Come in!" I call over my shoulder. Its my little brother, Duke. "Hey, um I got you something." he says holding out a small box for me. I take it from him and open the lid. Inside is a beautiful black necklace. I hug him. "Thank you so so so much!" I say putting the necklace on. Ah black. My favorite color. I like it because it helps me to not stand out. I hate being rich. People starve and we get to live the high life. It disgusts me. So I wear old worn out things and plain colors. I almost feel normal. I also distance myself from everyone else. I people watch from the shadows. My brothers think I'm creepy. I scoff at that. People just don't get me that's all. I'd rather know their dirt than have them know mine. So I people watch. But not even the shadows can hide me from the reaping. That's why I want my mom here. To be able to calm me down. Alas I'm stuck with two brothers, an insane father, and my best friend who has her own family to worry about. So I get to mope to my self. Just like any other thing in my life. I only have one other person to worry about in the reaping. My older brother, Hayden. He's a year older than me. He doesn't worry though talking about all the kids who have to take Tesserae. I try to tell him one is all it takes. Or in my case, four. There's another knock. "Come in" I say once more. It's Hayden this time. "Chesh, we have to get going." I nod silently and follow him out of the door.

**Thomas Winter 14 POV**

"God Thomas! Keep it down!" my grandma yells at me. She thinks everything is loud. Including me walking I guess. "Mom..." my mom starts to say but grandma cuts her off. "Why is everyone so loud!" I sigh inwardly. She annoys us so much. My family and I. The only reason she's here is because the capitol took away her house. So now she lives with us. "Thomas!" "What Grandma?" "Wear that mahogany shirt I got you! Ooh! And those khakis. I like those." "Fine" So I rummage through the wardrobe trying to find the outfit she was talking about. Sadly, I do. I walk into the other room and put the clothes on. I hate my life. It's the worst outfit my grandma could have possibly put together. It completely clashes. None the less I walk out of the room and show my grandma. "Yes! Perfect!" My grandma says throwing her arms in the air. I resist the urge to kick myself. I look like a complete geek. Then all of a sudden my grandma shouts out one of many of her random facts, "Your grandfather had gold teeth! I have one of them!" Gross. Not wanting to listen to my grandma any more I announce I'm going to reaping and walk out the front door.

**Chesh Shira 15 POV**

I tried to tell my brother one or four is all it took. Tried. I have been reaped for the 23rd annual Hunger Games. I know right now might not be the best time for I told you so's but whatever. I told you so. So I walk up the steps to the stage and sigh heavily. My brother's are complete morons. I feel like waving to them to show them it can happen but decide against it. It would be pretty funny though. I turn my attention to the boy who was also reaped. Thomas Winter. He looks pretty weak. I don't want to jinx it but he's probably a bloodbath. My stealth might get me a bit farther but I'm gonna die. I accept that.

**District 12 (Mining) Natalya Parak 14 POV**

Crash! The beer bottle hits the wall. "Dad! Stop it!" my little brother, Wyan yells. Wyan's only 4 he should not have to see this. Our dad's a drunk. I am fourteen. I should not have to see this either. I guess our dad doesn't think of us. He spend all of our money on beer. Instead of food. We live in the Seam. We all look like it. We all were born with the Seam look. We also fell victim to the Seam's constant hunger. I wish I could give my brother the world. Not my dad. My brother became crippled at two. He stole some food and was sentenced to a beat down by the peacekeepers. I hate the Capitol. They're sick. They deserve to suffer. Like we do. I'm pushed. By Wyan. "Go get ready" he's right I should. "Ok" I walk into our room. I grab a worn brown dress. I quickly throw it on. I rake through my hair with my finger and braid it. I look in the cracked mirror. My grey eyes sparkle with interest. I look presentable I guess. I pick up my mother primrose pin. I secure it to my dress. I smooth out the bottom of my dress and return to where my brother is sitting. "Nat... What if your picked?" I purse my lip. I have to take out Tesserae. So my names in there more than I would like. "Um then your gonna be an only child." It's the truth though. Im thin and weak. My height doesn't give me much intimidation. In fact it only shows how skinny I am. It really sucks for Seam kids. I mean reallyyyy sucks. We are pretty much screwed from the get go. So yes, Wyan would be an only child. He nods his head knowingly. A four year old should not know. I make my self walk out the door and to the square for reaping.

**Fredrick Kennedy 18 POV**

I hate life. I hate where I live. I hate how things are done. I hate the Capitol. So there's a breif summary of what I hate. I also hate my glass eye. Its annoying. I hate my reaping clothes too. It's a old torn blue dress shirt and a pair of short dress pants. Great. Stupid Capitol turning a blind eye on the starving districts. I frickken hate them all. I kick a piece of god knows what on the dirt path. I live in the Seam if you haven't guessed all ready. I starve. As do most Seam kids but you know. Capitol's fault once more. The reaping's today. Oh what a joy that will be. Im a Tesserae kid like most in the Seam so my names in the bowl 40 times. My luck I'll get picked. Yeah my luck. Oh sorry odds. The odds are never in 12's favor. Never have been never will be. Frick. I better be going.

**Natalya Parak 14 POV**

What if just became what is. I was reaped. I silently walk to the stage. Im in danger of crying now. Poor Wyan. An only child now. Has to watch me be murdered for some freaks entertainment. The guy is chose. Fredrick Kennedy. He trips. I bite back laughter. What a moron! Are you kidding me? He's got to be the laughing stock of Panem now! Ha. ha ha ha. I suddenly don't feel like laughing any more.

**That's a wrap. So the last reapings! Yea! Up next is the goodbyes! Please Review!**

**~Kendyl~**


	6. Goodbyes

Haha Its time to say goodbye! Well, for the tributes that is. This will be more third person ish so yeah. Not so many changing POV's. Maybe. We'll see where this goes. Another thing! I've posted two one-shot as well. Constructive criticism welcomed! Not to harsh though. Also! Disclaimer! I don't own the Hunger Games. If I did Finnick would not have died. That's about it. Bye!

~Kendyl~

District 1

Natalie was escorted to a small room with one velvet couch and a couple of wooden chairs. Natalie took a seat on the couch. In a few seconds her family burst through the door. They gave her hugs and such and told her how stupid she was to volunteer. Whatever. The only person she really wanted to see was Aaron. So when the peacekeepers appeared in the doorway telling them their time was up Natalie could not be more pleased. Aaron walked through the door next. She sprang up and threw her arms around him. "Natalie, that was super stupid and super crazy thing you just did" she pulled back. Doesn't anyone get it? The fame the fortune! It could be hers! All she had to do was kill a few kids to get it? Sign her up! "Don't you see? I could be rich! And famous!" "Exactly! Could be! You could die!" "Aaron! Come on baby can't you imagine it?" "Yes I can imagine it because its never going to happen!" he turns to leave. "Well if im going to "die" can I at least get a goodbye kiss?" he sighs giving her a quick peck on the lips. The peacekeeper is in the doorway once more. Aaron leaves. Natalie huffs sitting back down on the couch. Is everyone this blind?

.

.

.

Stephen was escorted to a similar room just down the hall. Only the spirt was much different with his goodbyes. Since his siblings were the mentors they were not permitted to come and say goodbye. Though they could tell him everything on the train. So Stephen sat down and began to wait for his parents to appear. In a few minutes they did. They gave him kisses and hugs. His dad told him to join up with the careers. Then his mom told him when it's the final 8 take first watch and get out of there. He asked if he should kill one of them in their sleep. She said no claiming you would be the first one on everybody's hit list. He filed these facts away in his brain listening to everything his parents had to say. Before they left they also told him they were proud and to listen to his siblings. Then the peacekeeper told them their time was up. He waved a goodbye to his parents. For now.

.

.

.

District 2

Sia sat down on the chair. She wanted no part in the Capitols fancy items. She just wanted to win the games. Sia was expecting no one to see her off. Maybe her father would be dumb enough to show his face. She hoped not. Then Sia began to think. Who would really miss Sia if she died? No one really. Then she heard the door open. Her father. "Get out! I hate you!" she screamed at her father. He simply walked across the room and sat down on the couch. "Did you not hear me? I said get out!" she screams at him once more. He turns to look at her. "I wanted to say goodbye to the last of my family" "I don't care what you want! This is about me! I want you to leave!" "No" Sia's blood boiled. Is he really this stupid? He's just asking for me to kill him! "Out now" he shakes his head. "Not until that peacekeeper comes and takes me away" Sia wanted to cuss him out. She restrained herself. She sat back down not realizing she stood up in the first place. She turned away from her father as she did. They sat in complete silence which allowed Sia to think of a game plan. She obviously would ally with the careers. That was a given. She would split at the final 8. She might just kill one of them in their sleep and then make a run for it. Yes, this is what she would do. When the peacekeeper came to take her father away she breathed a sigh of relief. So she sat waiting to be escorted to the train.

.

.

.

Meanwhile Kaleb was waiting for a lot of people to see him off. He fiddled with the ring box which held the ring for Delilah. His father was the first through the door. He quickly slipped the box back in his pocket. "There's my boy!" His father said walking over and giving him a slap on the back. Kaleb suppressed a small smile. His father was at least proud of him. Though it didn't mean much. Kaleb thought of the worse case scenario. Which in everyone's case was of course, dying. His father talked strategy with him the rest of their time together. He tuned him out though. He just wanted to see Delilah. So when his father left, he got prepared. He was about to spill his heart out to her when the person walking through the door wasn't her. It was his best friend Jakub. "Man, you're my friend but I don't roll that way." he says eyeing the ring. Embarrassed he gets up off his knee and slips the box back into his pocket once more. "It wasn't for you it was for Delilah" "Oh ok that's gonna tick your dad off so much dude." Kaleb frowns. "I don't care" Jakub shrugs his shoulders. "Doesn't matter your dads the biggest jerk I know" Kaleb smiles slightly. That's why he's friends with Jakub. Jakub gets him. "So Delilah... got to admit was pretty scary when she was reaped. Thank god that Sia chick volunteered eh?" Right Sia. He owes her one. "Yeah, thank god." but at the same time Kaleb wasn't that scared. In district 2 since the 6th games someone has always volunteered. Jakub and him talked for the remaining 2 minutes. Then he got ready once more to propose to Delilah. As soon as she walked through the door he spilled his heart out telling her how much he loved him and how he wished things were different. She said yes and threw her arms around my neck. I hugged her tighter and picked her up and spun her around. In the very moment he was the happiest man alive.

.

.

.

District 3

Leigha was on the verge of tears. Her parents were here holding on to her. They said they would look after Ashleigh for her but she told them no. Aviva gets Ashleigh. Her parents understood. Now the tears were falling freely. Leigha knew she was going to die. There was no way around it. She was no muscled up tough girl. No, she was weak and scrawny little Leigha. No amount of crying was going to change her fate. She was dead girl walking. She wanted to curl up in a ball and stay like that forever. But she couldn't. She had to try and be strong. For her family and for her self. So she stopped her crying and clung to her parents knowing this was the last time she was ever going to see them. So when the peacekeeper came to tell them their time was up. They literally had to pry Leigha's parents off of her. Next through the door was Aviva. She had obviously been crying and had pulled it together for her best friend. Her eyes were bright red. A dead give away. Aviva looked upon her friend and saw she had been crying and losses it again. Everyone knows Leigha's as good as dead. If she makes it past the bloodbath it would be a miracle. So Aviva throws her arms around her best friend for the last time. Leigha asks if Aviva will take care of Ashleigh after she dies. Aviva says of coarse. In what feels like 10 seconds the peacekeeper is their once again. With a final wave Aviva vanishes through the door. With that Leigha cries again.

.

.

.

Sawyer is currently holding a crying Stacey. His whole family is here. Stacey, Matt, and his mother, Jen. "I-I should have volunteered" Matt says between sobs. Sawyer respectfully slaps him upside the head. "No you should not have" He tells him. It's a good thing he didn't or he'd screaming at him so loud the ruins in district 13 could hear him. So he simply sits there not crying comforting his little sister. "Y-you h-h-have to w-win!" Stacey says trying to get a hold of herself. "I'll try" because truth is that's all he can do. Is try. He knows the odds aren't in his favor. They aren't in anyone's, really. So he can't promise her he'll win because no matter how bad she wants him to come how 23 kids are dying. One of them could be and is probably going to be him. His brother won't meet his eyes. He's not stupid he knows what's going to happen and its breaking my heart.

.

.

.

District 4

Towner can't sit down. Instead she's up and pacing back and forth. How could this happen? Why did no one volunteer? Usually some one volunteers! Her thoughts are interrupted when her parents walk through the door. She stops pacing to look at her parents. Their a mess. "Oh! My poor baby!" her mother says wrapping her arms around her daughter. Her father wraps his arms around the both of them forming a big group hug. They stayed like that for several moments before her father spoke. "Towner Marie Hills listen to me." She lifted her head to look him in the eyes. They were dead serious. "Don't join the careers you'll do better on your own" she wasn't going to anyway. "Go to that cornucopia get a pack and your weapon and get the heck out of there" She nods her head. "Kill anyone who gets in your way." That last part was a shock to Towner. She never dreamed of her father saying anything like that. Towner listened to everything her dad said. If anyone was smart enough to figure out a game plan it was her father. They left when the peacekeeper told them to. Next through the door was her brothers. Tomas through his arms around his sister protectively as if to say "If you touch one hair on her head I'll kill you myself". Gilland stood next to his siblings not saying a word. They had grown apart since he started working on the boats. So he stood there with his head bowed not daring to look at his sister. Only when he felt her arms around him did he look up. He returned the hug Towner was giving him. The siblings did not speak all the words were sent by eye contact and deep understanding. They also left without a word. The last of the bunch to come in was Coron. He was also holding Twila. As soon as she saw Towner she leapt out of his arms. "Towner! Don't go!" her baby cousin says. Towner pulls her onto her lap. "I'm so sorry but I have to" she tells her. Coron takes a seat next to her. They don't say a word once again. It would be to painful. He wraps his arms around them. Only then does Towner see the tears in his eyes. The peacekeeper is there again. Before he leaves Coron presses his lips to her cheek and whispers, "I love you Town" and leaves without another word.

.

.

.

Kai was getting much different treatment. Mia had waltzed right in a given him a big high five and told him how awesome that was. His mom wrapped her arms around him and told him to be careful. His dad went over last minute strategy's. "Careers til final 8 grab a pack of stuff and flee I got it dad" He said clearly annoyed that his dad would even think he would forget. Mia told him not to flirt with anyone. He questioned her. "Because if you end up really liking a girl it would be hard to kill her." she replied simply. He almost laughed in her face. He doesn't get attached to girls. Never has and probably never will. Instead he told her ok and joked with his family the rest of the time. Kai did have a lot riding on his shoulders. His dad was a previous victor and he can't let his dad down. He had to win back the family pride. So he would. He would win and bring the glory back to the Rose family.

.

.

.

District 5

Ariana sat in the room waiting for her uncle to appear. Instead her parents did. She really wanted to bang her head up against a wall. Seriously? Don't they she doesn't like them? She sat there not making a move towards her parents. "Ari... come on" "No" she replied flatly. She wanted nothing to do with them. They could go die in a hole for all she cared. So she told them to get out and they actually did as she wished. Her uncle finally was allowed to come in. He walked across the room and sat next to her. "Remember what I taught you and you'll do fine" she nods her head. "My knives and some poison are all I need." her uncle smiles. "Very good" she smirks. She might just might be able to make it far in these games. If she can remember all of her uncle's advice she could maybe even win. Maybe. After her uncle left the room Ariana sighed and laid down on the couch. Could she really win? Or was it all in her head?

.

.

.

Reiyn sighed and waited for his adoptive parents to send him off to his immediate death. This really sucks. Reiyn goes over what he's good at. Making traps. Is that really all he's good for? He guesses so. They walk in. Poor people. Does everyone they care for really have to die? Or be tormented for life? He wraps his arms around them. "Thank you for everything you have done for me" he says tightening the hug. Its as if their a knot on a piece of rope. You pull tighter and tighter til it comes undone. When his adoptive parents let him go and wave their final goodbye's does he know the knot came undone. Then when he hears there sobs as they walk away does he feel like a piece of rope dropped and never to be tied again.

.

.

.

District 6

Libra just could not stop crying. Every time she did she would remember where she was going and start to cry again. When mother came in it got worse. She did not even try and stop the tears when she saw that her mother was crying too. Between her sobs her mother asked if she had a token. Libra replied by sticking out the hand that had her mothers ring on it. Her mother nodded still crying her eyes out. Athena was her mothers name. Her mother once told her that she was named after a wise and strong Greek goddess. Strong and wise. Those were always the two words she would use to describe her mother. Right now? Only sad. When Libra dies in the arena? Broken. That's how they'll describe her. Simply broken.

.

.

.

Sebastian was again snapped back into reality by Jess. "God Sebastian, you do that in the arena and you're screwed" She as ususal was completely right. "Where are my parents?" he asks her. She frowns. "They were just in here 5 minutes ago" now he feels really bad. His parents did not even get to say goodbye. Well, not really any way. "I take it you went into your other world when they were here?" He nods. "Figures." she scoffs leaning back in the chair she's sitting in. "Um Jess?" she raises her eyebrow. "Do you think I could win?" She wastes no time in saying no. "It's been nice knowing you though." she says standing up and exiting the room. Sebastian sits there willing his fantasy world to swallow him whole.

.

.

.

District 7

Lily's siblings cling to her for dear life. Her father stands awkwardly off to the side. Lily? She's hoping this is all a dream. A cruel, sick, twisted dream that she would wake up from. It wasn't the tears in Liv's eyes were real, Peter hurt expression was real, and so was her father standing awkwardly off to the side. It was all real. Lily could die less then a week from now. She wiped the thought from her mind and made her siblings look her in the eyes. "Now listen here. You have to stay strong for me. I know it's a lot to ask but you got to." they nod their heads. "And you!" she says pointing a finger at her father. "You need to come home every night and take care of them. Do you hear me?" she asks. He nods. "Good. Liv and Peter. Guys let go your suffocating me." she says to her siblings. They let go as she wishes. They say their final goodbyes and disappear out the door. Lily takes a breath. Did she say the right things? Or the wrong? She'll have more time to think on the train .

.

.

.

Drake feels like crap. His dad just came in and said his mom is not permitted to come here. Again feels like crap. He really wanted to see his mom one more time. His father said he tried to get her in but they would not let her. Drake understood. His father was trying to build his confidence saying if he could get his hands on an axe he could go far. Could. That one word demolishes any hope Drake had before. Could. It cuts him to his core. He could win. He could get an axe. His mom could be here. Could. His new least favorite word. Its was full of desires he would never have. How many other people hate hearing this word? Just him? Or was there more? He would never know. Just like he would never know what his mom wanted to say to him before he died. Could.

.

.

.

District 8

Maria actually felt like a freak. For once in her life she really did. Also for once in her life she wasn't her happy and cheerful self. No, she was going into the games. She was scared. Were her acrobatic skills going to help her or slow her down? Was she going to be any good with a weapon? Was she going to go to the cornucopia or not? All these questions were running through her mind when her parents walked into the room. Her sweet, kind, caring parents were going to have to watch her get slaughtered on live television. Maria wanted to throw up at the thought. Her parents would not look at her, speak to her, or even touch her. They stood right by the door. Maria really wanted to thank them. She didn't trust her self to speak. She just wanted to see her parents one last time. She studied their faces trying to burn them into her mind so whenever she closed her eyes she could see their faces. Maria needed to say at least one thing to her parents so she did. "Thank you for everything you have ever done for me. I love you guys so much. Never forget that." They give their daughter a sad smile. They study her face too. Burning it into their minds. They willingly go when the peace keeper tells them to feeling a bit of closure.

.

.

.

Scorpio on the other hand could not wait for his grandpa to leave. He was blabbering on about a time when he was a boy. He really wanted to slap his grandpa but pushed the thought from his head when he said, "Listen ere boy. You stay out of the fighting. Ye ere me? Stay out of it. It'll get ya killed." Scorpio decided to actually listen to his grandpa for a few minutes "Once your away from the fightin run and make shelter. While your trainin learn 'bout plants. They'll help you out." Scorpio nods. "Hide. Then pick 'em off in their sleep." Scorpio noted that for once his grandpa was actually trying to help him. It was actually really helpful advice. "You listening boy?" Scorpio nods. "Good, cuz if you die in the bloodbath ima kick that wooden box your shipped back in" There's the grandpa Scorpio was waiting to see.

.

.

.

District 9

Scarlet wanted to scream. Why would this happen? Stupid Capitol. A soft knock almost makes her jump out of her skin. It was her parents. Her mother was clutching something in her hand. "What's that...?" she says pointing towards her mother's hand. "My necklace. Its going to be your token." Scarlet almost gasped. Her mother's lucky necklace. A simple silver chain with a four leaf clover charm. Her mother handed it to her. She quickly fastened it around her neck. Her mothers thumb dragged against her right cheek. Scarlet lifted her hand and held on to her mothers. She motioned for her father to join them. He walks right over. She brings hand to her left cheek. They stay like this until its time for them to leave. Tara comes in next. She walks over and sits next to Scarlet on the couch. She rests her head on Scarlet's left shoulder. "Well, this sucks" Scarlet burst out laughing. Not because its overly funny it just might be the last time she hears one of Tara's feel better sarcastic jokes. It feels good to laugh. Until she's laughing like a serial killer. Tara looks at her like she's insane. She just might be headed there. Scarlet pulls herself together long enough to give Tara one last hug.

.

.

.

Kole just wants to see his baby sister. That's all he wants. He can't though. His father is too drunk to even bring her. So Kole's only company is the couch and chairs and the walls that surround him. Kole never felt so miserable in his entire life. He just wants to kiss her booboo one for time. See her beautiful blue eyes. Pull on her little blond pigtails. Pinch her chubby cheeks. Hear her cute little laugh. He can't have any of that because he has one of the worst father's ever. Why did he get stuck with a dad like this? He looks up to the ceiling. "Mom if you can here me I just want you to know I love you very much and I might be seeing you very soon. Please watch over Cami while im in these games. Thank you mom." He looks back down. He's ready now. To face what ever these games throw at him.

.

.

.

District 10

Cecily's currently being yelled at. By Tanith. "Why did you do it! WHY! Why Cecily! You only had today's reaping and you were home free! Your such an idiot!" Cecily just sits there until she's done. Tanith stops yelling and breaks down into tears. So now she's comforting her niece. Awesome. Her brother and her sister in-law stand off to the side giving us some space. "Tanith, I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't" She looks up at her. "That's stupid no one would blame you" "Yes, I would blame myself though" She looks like she wants to slap her. She'd let her. If that made her feel better but she doesn't. She just sits there staring at her aunt as if pondering on what to say next. "OK" She says getting up and leaving the room with her parents. Blaine comes in next. He takes a seat in the chair. "Hey" he says not trusting himself to say more. "Hey" she says back. She ponders telling him she loves him. I mean she's going to die anyway. But there is that 4 point something chance she won't so she decides to shut her mouth. "Cecily... don't like die right away k?" she looks at him funny. "I mean it!" "Ok, ok I'll try to not do so" "Good"

.

.

.

George is talking to his friends, Luke and Simon. They are telling him strategy's. George takes notes on what they are saying. They were always smart. They tell him to grab a pack and get the hell out of there. He nods his head every time they say something. They leave after another minute of information. His parents enter next his mom immediately collapses to the floor. She's sobbing uncontrollably. His father helps her up and leads her to a chair opposite of George. She almost instinctively throws her arms around her son. "No! You can't go! You can't die!" She starts yelling at no one specifically. "You will not take this boy!" yelling again. "Mother calm down." he tells her patting her back awkwardly. He so does not want to be in this situation. "Mom, look at me" she looks at him. "Take care of yourself." she starts to yell again. The peace keepers drag her out of the room. His dad says one more thing though, "Good luck son" and is gone.

.

.

.

District 11

Chesh feels like kicking things. So she kicks Hayden in the shin. "Ow! What was that for?" He asks her. "For not listening to me! Jerk." she reaches to put up the hood that's just not there. Stupid reaping clothes. She wants her black hoodie. Wants to stand in the shadows and people watch. But no she's going into the Hunger Games. With only 4 slips in the reaping bowl. She told her brothers. She told her father. Did they listen to her? No, no they did not. Morons. Don't they know she's usually right? All the time? Her family is so blind. Duh! She and Hayden could be picked! Hello! Its not impossible. It only takes one. Or in her case 4. She always seems to know everything about everyone.

.

.

.

Thomas wants to slam his head into the wall. His parents just had to bring his grandmother. Kill him right now! He doesn't care! Anything is better than this torture. He snaps. "Grandma! Shut up!" she looks at him with a surprised expression. "So the boy does have some fire eh?" He looks at her with a confused look. "I was testing you boy. Needed to know if you had some fire in ya." she says like the answer is obvious. He narrows his eyes, "Are you kidding me?" "Nope" Thomas wants to slap himself. Why didn't he snap earlier? Why did he just have to find out when he was going to die? Great just great. His grandma hands him something. It's a gold tooth. Then he remember's her outburst earlier today. She points at it "token" he nods putting it in his pocket.

.

.

.

District 12

Natalya listens to her father argue with the peacekeepers in a drunken slur. "Let me through!" he keeps yelling at them. Finally he bursts through the door with Wyan trailing behind. Wyan runs into her arms. "Kill em all Talya all of em" she looks at her four year old brother with surprise. "Yeah Nat" her father says "Don't think I can take care of little one by myself" He says jabbing a finger at Wyan. At least my father knows he's not a fit father for Wyan. "I'll try" Its all I can do. Wyan nods his head. Her father gives her a hug. She almost jerks away. Almost. Instead she hugs him back. It feels strangely comforting. Probably because she's probably die in a week. That's it. That got to be it.

.

.

.

Fredrick hates the furniture. So he sits on the ground. Then he waits for his family. Only his mom shows. Figures. Dad's probably at home. Never liked his son anyway. His mom sits on the floor next to him. They've grown apart. Fredrick works in the mines every day then comes home and sleeps. Not much of a relationship there. She puts something in his hand. A bracelet? Yes. Its leather he thinks. He slips it on. "Thanks mom" she nods her head standing up and exiting the room.

Sorry for the last one being so short! Not much there to write about! Review please!

~Kendyl~


	7. The Train and Chariot Rides

**Hello once again. Ok, so originally I wasn't going to even have the train rides but after some convincing from my friend (clato4thewin) over the phone, I'm going to do them. There going to be short though. Just some quick interactions. Then I'm going to do the chariot rides. Sorry if this chapter will be a little hard to follow. I'm working on making my chapters easier to follow. Also drop a vote at the poll. Please. That is all.**

**~Kendyl~**

**D1**

Natalie and Stephen had just been escorted to the train by Melanie, their escort. She was talking about how they were off schedule or something. Stephen chatted with his siblings while Natalie stood off to the side. She wanted nothing to do with the stupid Talcott family. They already had to children whom were victors. Wasn't that enough? Natalie knew this would be a long train ride. When they boarded the train Natalie went straight to her room while Stephen hung out with his siblings and Melanie. About an hour later dinner was served. Natalie had obviously taken in a shower due to her pungent smell and change of clothes. Natalie ate her dinner in silence. Stephen and his siblings talked strategy. Natalie loudly cleared her throat and everyone looked to her. She covered by taking a sip of water. "Sorry, something got caught in my throat" she said smiling innocently. Every one shrugged and turned back to their food. After they had finished their dinner, they all watched the recap. They watched as Natalie sprinted to the stage and as Stephen jogged up. Then two had its usual two volunteers both of which looked super confident. They ignored three completely and waited for four to appear. When they did the girl was reaped but looked capable enough. The boy however was a volunteer. He was a son of a previous victor. Stephen made a side note they were both fighting for the spotlight. No one else really struck them as amazing so after the recap was finished they retired to their rooms and slept.

**D2**

Kaleb and Sia really hit it off. They both grew to trust each other. Kaleb told Sia that she had basically saved his Fiancé from going into the games. Sia felt a strange sense of pride. She had saved someone. They talked all through dinner and talked about their lives. Sia learned that Kaleb's dad had forced him to volunteer and Kaleb learned that Sia hated her dad. They both knew they now had a friend in these twisted games. That was good thing. So they sat next to each other during the reaping recap and took notes. With help from their mentor they learned that the male tribute from district 1's brother and sister were both previous victors. The girl they decided was down right crazy. Just crazy. They watched each other as they both volunteered. Three was nothing special really. The guy was muscular big whoop. Four had to strong tributes. One reaped one volunteered. Strong career pack this year. No one really stuck out to them though. There was the 10 girl who volunteered and the 12 boy who tripped but nothing really special. To them at least. With a wave good night the two tributes parted ways and went to sleep.

**D3**

Leigha had noticed something just peeking out of Sawyers left t-shirt sleeve that he had changed into. Right now they were having dinner. That's when Leigha knows what it is. "Is that a tattoo?" she asks pointing towards the ink on his left bicep. He rolls up his sleeve slightly exposing the sun tattoo. "Yeah, why?" Leigha shrugged her shoulders "Just wondering" she says eating the rest of her food. Their escort informs them they are going to watch the reaping's. The tributes nod ok and follow her into the TV room. They watch the careers volunteer in the first two districts. Then they watch themselves. Leigha watches herself twitch uncontrollably. She wants to die of embarrassment. What a fail Leigha. Leigha is the first one up and retreating to their room when the recap was over.

**D4**

Towner wants to punch Kai in the face. He's _flirting _with her. Are you kidding me? This so isn't the place to do it. Sure he was the year below her's heartthrob but she had never taken a fancy to him. He kinda disgusted her. So here she is trying to eat her dinner with this moron flirting with her. Kai suddenly thought of what Mia had told him. She told him not to flirt. Oh well, so much for that. After dinner Towner and Kai watched the recap. Kai watched the first two districts with interest. He looked over to see Towner wasn't doing the same. "You better pay attention these are going to be our allies" "_Your_ allies not mine." "Your not joining the careers?" Is this girl for real? "Nope the careers turned on my cousin in her games so I don't like the careers." Kai didn't pry after that.

**D5**

Ariana thought Reiyn was just plain weird. He had found some rope in his bedroom and started making traps all around the train. When he didn't have the rope his hands twitched uncontrollably. At dinner she watched as his fingers drummed on the table. She had had enough. "Are you ok?" she leaned over and whispered in his ear. He looked down at his fingers as if just noticing they were drumming on the table. He stopped. "Yeah, fine." he whispered back. She rolled her eyes and finished her meal. Ariana announced she was tired and headed off to her room to get some sleep.

**D6**

Libra had been trying to snap Sebastian back into reality for 20 minutes. Only when she screamed in his ear did he come back. They had failed to get his attention before dinner so they went on and ate without him. Now it was time for the recaps and Libra had spent the entire time getting him out of his daze. The recaps were nearly over. They got situated just as the girl from 10 volunteered. The boy was nothing special and neither was 11. The boy from 12 tripped and Libra laughed. So did the announcers.

**D7**

Drake wouldn't talk to Lily which she found quite rude. She wanted to at least get to know her district partner a bit better. But alas he stayed silent the entire night. Lily tried to strike up conversation but he shot her down. She huffed and went back to watching the recap. As always the careers were the biggest threat. No one else looked intimidating. Not even them.

**D8**

Maria spoke one word to Scorpio. Hi. After that he went straight to his room. Maria understood. She would too if only she didn't want to flip. Which she did. So she did her back hand springs, front hand springs, back tucks, front tucks, and of coarse her aerials. The train had a lot of room for her to do so. Maria wasn't that hungry so she ate little food and mostly drank water. She watched the reapings and only felt scared when she saw the careers. Also when she saw the girl from 7. She's determined Maria thought. Watch out for her.

**D9**

Scarlet liked Kole. He was a sweet boy. He talked about his little sister. He also said he didn't get to see her because his dad was too drunk. She felt bad then. By the end of the night they were in an alliance. They were to meet up after the bloodbath. If they both survived that long. So during the reapings they took notes on who to stay away from. The careers, the boys from 3&8, and the girl from 7. With these people in mind they went to bed.

**D10**

Cecily was starting to freak George out. Like big time. She was staring at him like she might snap his neck right here and be done with it. Only when she talked and her voice soft did he calm down. "How you coping?" he was a first taken aback but answered her. "I'm not." she gave him a small smile. "Why did you volunteer?" she takes a breath then says, "The girl who was reaped is my niece." George nodded sadly. Why are these games so cruel? George didn't mind Cecily so much after they started to talk. Cecily asked him what he was good at. He snorted. "Running" he said. Cecily wanted to hug him but didn't. This kids gonna die early she thought.

**D11**

Thomas didn't get Chesh at all. She's sitting at the dinner table with a black hood over her head. She's barely eating anything. Thomas on the other hand was inhaling his food. He had never seen so much in his life! Then he remembered Chesh is the daughter of a rich man. Perhaps she hates watching all of us starve? That explains the not eating but the hood? Does she hate attention? If that's the case then he takes back anything negative he ever thought about her. She's a caring girl.

**D12**

Fredrick is a moron. Natalya watched as they had to carry him on the train. Apparently he hates the Capitol soooo much that he doesn't want on the train. Well, there goes anyone who was going to sponsor him. Does he enjoy making himself look like an idiot? Because once again District 12 is the laughingstock of Panem. When they get him on the train he sits on the floor. For real? "Um you do know there's a chair less than 5 feet from you. Right?" "Yes, but I refuse to sit in it" "Whatever im tired so im going to bed" he gives her a sarcastic wave and she heads off to bed.

**Ok so train rides. Done. Same chapter chariot rides. From announcer POV. Let's do this!**

**Announcer POV**

"Hello and welcome back to Panem TV! Tonight our brave tribute showcase what they got in tonight's Chariot Rides! Let's turn our attention to the starting gates!"

"First we have the stunning District 1 tributes, Natalie Warner and Stephen Talcott!"

"They are dressed in stunning Diamond studded clothes! Natalie wearing a dress and Stephen wearing pants and a vest!"

"Next up is our courageous District 2 tributes, Sia Delaria and Kaleb Tides!"

"They are looking simply marvelous in their War gods costume!" "Miss Delaria has a Roman style dress on and golden arm bangles around her biceps. While Mr. Tides has on a Roman style toga. They both have what appears to be a mockery of the Victor crown on their heads!"

"Here comes the District 3 tributes, Leigha Marx and Sawyer Coleman!"

"They are looking simply divine in the metallic looking clothing! They look just like the metal all of their machines are made of!"

"Now we have the stunning as ever District 4 tributes, Towner Hills and Kai Rose!"

"They seem to be portraying Merman and mermaid!" "Miss Hills has a tight fitting top which shows off her nice athletic build! Mr. Rose however has no shirt on what so ever! The top on miss Towner is an ocean blue and her "tail" is a beautiful sea green."

"Up next we have the District 5 tributes, Ariana Dixon and Reiyn Tucker!"

"They are dressed in white unitard's with different colored wires in laid in them."

"Miss Dixon appears to be very flirtatious with the audience tonight!"

"Now for our District 6 tributes, Libra Jonea and Sebastian Polar!"

"They appear to be dressed like train engineers. With a white t-shirt and striped overalls with a striped cap." "They don't appear to ve thrilled with the costumes."

"Alright, time for out District 7 tributes, Lily Moore and Drake Martin!"

"They are in the trademark tree outfits again this year! Miss Moore has a long evergreen colored dress that looks like leaves with a golden wreath on her head. Mr. Martin has nude colored pants with tree branches snaking around his legs and the same thing on his shirt. He also has a golden wreath on his head."

"The dazzling District 8 tributes are next, Maria Kingston and Scorpio Rider!"

"They appear to be dressed as us Capitol people hinting off the fact that they make out delightful clothes! Very beautiful!"

"Our District 9 tributes are up next! They are, Scarlet Red and Kole Darwin!"

"They appear to be wearing Tan colored clothing with swirls of different tans and browns representing the wheat fields back in their district. They look simply stunning!"

"District 10 brings us, Cecily Rose and George Van Loon!"

"They are dressed as cowboy and cowgirl! The entire get up glistens gold! Also, remember people keep an eye on Cecily we still don't know why she volunteered!"

"Alright now here's the District 11 tributes, Chesh Shira and Thomas Winter!" As soon as the announcers spotted the boy they burst out laughing. So did the rest of the audiance. "Well, Miss Shira appears to be a harvester while Mr. Winter appears to be a giant stalk of corn!" "What did he do to make his stylist so mad?"

"Finally we have our District 12 tributes, Natalya Parak and Fredrick Kennedy!"

"They are dressed in the same coal miners jumpsuit that last years tributes wore too!"

The tributes circle the square once then stop in front of the presidents mansion to hear is annual speech. The president walks onto the balcony and all the tributes look up to where he's standing "Tribute of the 23rd annual Hunger Games! I wish you luck and May the odds be ever in your favor!" with that the tributes rode once more around the square and stopped at the gates. They exited the chariot and headed towards their floor to eat dinner.

**Ok so there you go! As always review please! Thank you!**

**~Kendyl~**


	8. Training

**Ello! Training will be seperated into 3 different parts training, Private Sessions, and the scores. Review please!**

**~Kendyl~**

* * *

After the chariot rides the night before the tributes were treated to a gourmet dinner. After some advice from their mentors the tributes headed off to bed. The next morning the were again treated to a gourmet meal. Only this time it was breakfast. They were drilled with training advice from their mentors then headed to the ground level and into the training gym. Currently all 24 tributes stood in a semi-circle listening to the head trainer. There were many stations ranging from swords, spears, axes, and knives to knot tying, climbing walls, snares, and edible plants.

Natalie wasn't listening to the trainer. Instead she had her eyes focused on the bows&arrows station. She was just itching to have her hands on them. So when the tributes were dismissed Natalie ran straight over there. She quickly scooped up a bow, strung it, notched an arrow, and shot it towards the target. She hit a bulls eye. The other careers stood behind her waiting to talk. She joined them after a few seconds. She glanced around the group and noticed some one missing. "Where's Towner?" she asked. Last night before the chariot rides the careers had joined together. Even the Towner had not gotten out of the chariot she was looking in their direction making them think she was interested. Kai spoke up. "During the recaps of the reapings she said something about not trusting the careers because they turned on her cousin" everyone except Natalie nodded their heads in understanding. Natalie however, was furious. She scoffed directing the rest of her allies towards the knife throwing station.

Stephen could hardly contain himself after seeing where Natalie was directing them. Towards the knife throwing station. As soon as they arrived he scooped up about six knives and threw them towards the target dummies. They sunk right into the middle. His allies congratulated him with high fives. Natalie scoffed. It was evident she hated him. Sia also picked up some knives. She was more deadly accurate with them. Stephen was really impressed. She smiled wickedly seeing her knives hit their target more in the middle then Stephens. It was clear who was handling the knives in this alliance.

Chesh watched the careers from afar. She was at the edible bugs station once again hiding in the shadows. She watched as the male from 2 picked up a sword with ease and took the dummies head right off its shoulders. She shivered at the thought of him doing that to her. She turned her head towards the female from 4. She had obviously not joined in with the careers. Can't say I blame her. Chesh still has to shiver when the girl sends her spear into the dummy as if it was made of butter. She was not to be overlooked. Chesh got bored of the bugs so she headed over to the fire making station. She continued her people watch. The girl from 7, Lily she thought her name was, has been destroying dummy after dummy with her axe since training started. She really scared Chesh. Her district partner who is only 12 seems to have mastered throwing the axes. She should have known. As soon as you can walk in 7 your probably handed an axe. Same with swimming in 4. It comes naturally to them. 11? Their good with plants n crap and climbing. Though 7's also got climbing down. So their stuck with plants n crap. Then she turns her attention to that moron from 12. God what an idiot. He hates the Capitol so much he refuses to train. He's a goner. His district partner tried to convince him but it soon became obvious he wasn't moving so she scoffed and left him there. Chesh shrugged her shoulders and turned to actually listen to the trainer.

The girl from 11 was starting to freak Towner out. She kept looking around the room and lurking in the shadows. Towner got bored with her spears and walked over to the edible food station. Might as well learn some survival needs. The boy from 11 was there. Where he has been since the start of training. Seriously don't these lower districts even try? She spotted the girl from 10 at the hand-to-hand combat station. At least she was trying. She next spotted the girl from 12. She was attempting the axes but was failing miserably. Towner sighed. Why are the tributes from 12 always from the Seam? It's a big disadvantage. The girl from 8 was in the middle of the gym doing flips. Towner was impressed. She landed a trick, noticed everyone's eyes on her, and flushed bright pink. She scurried off to the knife station where she preceded to pick up a dagger. She attacked the dummy. She tore it to shreds. If Towner was looking for an ally, it would be her.

Libra found her weapon. It was a blow dart gun. The station had basically been hidden behind the axe station and the sword station. The weapon was perfect for her. It was small and light and she could easily run with it. Libra then started looking at her competitors. There was the freak from twelve sitting in the middle of the floor, his district partner struggling with all the weapons, the careers who were struggling with the opposite, that shadow girl from 11, the flirt girl from 5, the large sword swinging guy from 3, his district partner at the wiring station, and the trap making boy from 5. She was missing some of them but they didn't really stand out. Like her. Libra glanced at the weapon in her hand. Is this what she would become? Her mother had told her she was named after her zodiac sign. The Libra was the scales in the sky. Libra weighed her scales. In one hand she could die without a name and never be remembered but in the other she could win and be remembered forever. She chose the win and be remembered because if she would have chose the other her strong independent mother wouldn't live up to her name sake. No she wouldn't be Athena. She would be more like a Maenad. Crazy and broken.

Reiyn watched as Ariana threw her arms around Sebastian's neck. She whispered things in his ear. She was grossing him out. "Ariana..." he began she looked up at him. "Were going over here. _Now."_ he said pointing over to the knot tying station. "Why? I only just met him." she says nudging her elbow into Sebastian's shoulder. He shoots him a look of desperation. So Reiyn grabs Ariana's wrist and pulls her over there. "What are you doing?" he hisses at her. She shrugs. "Trying to have a little fun." Reiyn grinds his teeth. "This is not the place to be doing it." she scoffs and picks up a length of rope and begins to knot it. Reiyn does the same. He is starting to regret babysitting this girl.

Scorpio's next move was to go and visit the axes. He had kept his distance when district 7 had been living it up over there. Now was his chance. He jogged over to the station and immediately picked up an axe. He attacked the nearest dummy. He did a pretty good job if he did say so himself. The trainer gave him a few tips on his stance and how to do certain attacks and he started to own with the weapon. After a little bit he returned the axe to the stand and walked around observing things. The boy from 11 started to flirt with the girls from 1&2 but they laughed in his face. As if he had a chance with either of them. Then there was the spacey kid from 6 who's mind seemed to be on autopilot as he wired a few things. The girl from 3 who stayed at the wire station the whole time. The girl from 9 who seemed to like the short swords and her male counterpart had a knack for javelins. The 10 boy only seems to be good at running. His district partner is slitting dummies throats open left and right with her dagger. This is a extremely tough crowd to beat.

Scarlet was loving these short swords. They were like an extension of her hand. They weren't extremely heavy either. Another plus. Scarlet watched Kole throw his javelins. He sure was amazing with them. Scarlet would hate to be on the other side of that thing. It sounds a little weird being afraid of a 13 year old but hey, he good. Honestly the only person Scarlet was really worried about was Natalie. She seemed a little off her rocker. She also didn't overlook the boy from 12. He might just be acting a part over there. Or he really is that stupid. Scarlet settled on the latter. His district partner kept struggling with any weapon she picked up. Scarlet felt for her. Before she discovered the short swords she was a complete failure at everything else. Maybe she would find her calling or maybe she wouldn't. We will have to wait and see.

Cecily found her new love. Aside from daggers. Climbing. It was actually really fun. After George had suggested it she went ahead and tried it out. She was actually not half bad. So Cecily climbed and climbed until she almost fell. She almost screamed. When she gathered her wits she saw it was that 12 year old from 7. He had came out of nowhere. He laughed. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you!" he said scampering up some more "branches". For some stupid reason she decided to follow him. When she finally caught up to him she asked him what his name was. "Drake Martin" he said sticking out his hand. She shook it. "And you are?" he asks her. "Cecily Rose" he scrunches his nose. "Doesn't some one else have the same last name?" he asks her. She thinks back and then it hits her. "Yeah, the boy from 4" she wonders if anyone else caught it. "Yeah! That's right Kai Rose" he says matter-o-factly. She nods her head. This was quite interesting.

Leigha has a reason for only staying at the one station. Its part of her plan. She is going to master an electrical trap and show off to the game makers. She'll use this trap in the arena. She still has to think of a way to lure the other tributes to her trap though. She'll deal with that tomorrow. Anyway, she scopes out her competition.. There was a lot of it. First of all the careers, then there was the girl from 7, her district partner, the girl from 4, and then the girl from 10. She wants to avoid them. They are her biggest threats. She has to take them out. What would they all want? The careers a harmless and unarmed tribute, the girl from 7 would jump at any tribute to get home, Sawyer? The same as girl 7, the girl from 4 would want...Leigha doesn't know, and the girl from 10 would want again Leigha doesn't know. So again she sits at the wire station perfecting the trap and smiling to herself.

Sia watched all the other tributes shy away from the careers. Sia was at the knife throwing station with Stephen. As she throws her knives her chuckles come out as demented laughs each time she hits the center. Stephen gets mad half way through after being shown up by a girl. Sia laughs at him as he leaves. So much for being the favorite Stephen she thinks to herself. She continues to throw her knives until Natalie announces they are going to the survival stations. They all audibly groan but follow reluctantly. They learn the edible plants and bugs alike, learn how to build fires, make snares, and tie knots. By the end of the day the careers were feeling good.

* * *

**So, what did ya think? I know it was really short and I apologize, I just wasn't feeling this chapter. I featured 12 tributes here, so I'll have the others featured in their private sessions. Also, poll results are going to be posted in the next chapter, so if you haven't voted yet please do so. Anyway, hopefully the interviews after this will be more interesting, so again sorry. Anyone else liking Fredrick's oddness? Cuz I am. So leave a review. Might be updating tomorrow. Might. Thanks! Bye!**

**~Kendyl~**


	9. Private Sessions

**Hello my wonderful readers! I love all ya. Ok, so this chapter has the other twelve tributes that didn't get a POV in the last chapter. This will be their private sessions. So... Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games. The amazing Suzanne Collins does.**

**P.s happy belated b-day Suzanne! (It was the 10th)**

**~Kendyl~**

* * *

Kaleb waited impatiently as District 1 preformed for the game makers. When his name was called he sprung up and walked towards the doors. Sia wished him good luck and he did the same back. When he stepped through the doors we walked towards the middle of the room. After being signaled by the game makers he rushed over to the sword station. He picked up one that felt well balanced in his hand and went on with maiming the dummies. After a while he stopped and went over to the knife throwing station. He threw a few. He was only doing this to really show how much better Sia was at throwing them. He honestly hoped it worked. After he was done there, he went back to the sword station and stayed there until they dismissed him. He smirked slightly and exited the room.

Sawyer waited for that knife thrower from 2 to be done. Just as he had waited for district 1 and the knife thrower's district partner. Finally it was his turn. He passed knife thrower on the way in. She was smirking as if she had won these things already. Then he noticed her nails. They had different powders and liquids trapped underneath them. What had she done in there? Then he knew. Poison. She probably dipped her knives in it. His thoughts are confirmed when he see's the discarded and melted target in the corner. There are also some melted knives there too. Smooth move 2. Smooth move. He walks over to the sword station. He kisses his dad's dog tags for good luck. He picks up a fairly large one and turned to face the dummies. He took off a few dummies heads, others their arm, and some he just stabbed through the stomach. He didn't really have anything else to do so he stuck with the swords the entire time. When his time was out, he bowed respectively to the game makers and exited the room.

Kai waited with Towner while districts 1-3 preformed. When his named was called he walked evenly into the room. When he did he caught the faint smell of smoke. What had that 3 girl done? Whatever. He walks over to the spear station. He knows Towner will do the same and she's better at it, but that's only because she does it for a living. Either way he is still amazing with a spear. So he grabs 5, walks backwards, takes aim, and throws the first spear at one of the dummies. He smirks as it hits a fatal spot. He does the same routine with the other 4, then goes over to the knot station and ties some very complicated ones. Guess who else makes some nets Towner? That's right this guy. Kai knows for a fact her family owns a shellfish stand. Meaning, she spear fishes and probably makes nets for extra money. So, I guess it was pretty stupid of him to do the same things she was going to do but hey. Whatever.

There are some perks to having an uncle who is a victor. You get trained. So when Ariana was called she was completely ready. She silently curses when she sees the melted targets in the corner. Stupid 2 girl that was my idea. Great. Sighing she walks over to the knives&daggers station. She picks up some knives and stuffs them in her belt. She walks over to the gauntlet and positions herself to run. The trainers get ready with the clubs and she takes off. She easily dodges every club and manages to hit all the targets with her knives. She takes the leap of faith and lands soundly on her feet. She turns back. All her knives hit the middle of the target and she didn't mess up and kept her footing. Pretty good. She goes to the hand-to-hand combat station and grabs a couple daggers. She precedes to slice open every dummy she encounters. She admires her handy work stepping away. She is dismissed and she can't seem to wipe away the smirk that creeps up on her face.

Sebastian has fingers in his face snapping. He snaps out of his daze and sees Libra is trying to get his attention. "You were just called" she says motioning towards the door. He nods his head slowly standing up and walking towards the doors. As he enters he stops. What is he going to do? He settles on some traps. He's pretty good at those. So he makes traps ranging from average to pretty impressive. He messes up on one and swears very loudly. He flushes pink with embarrassment. The game makers are feasting on some pig and other Capitol food. They catch him looking at them and dismiss him. "Well," he thinks. "That was awkward"

Drake feels bad. He sits an awkward silence with Lily. He was a complete jerk to her. Nice going Drake you just lost a possible friend/ally. Though he doesn't think she would want him as an ally anyway. She seems to want to work alone. Drake is called and he lets out a breathe and walks through the doors. He immediately runs to the axes. Ok here goes nothing. He picks up a throwing axe and chucks it at the target. It hits the center. Excellent. He continues throwing them until his arms grow tired. So he goes to the climbing ropes. He climbs to the ceiling with ease. Its like second nature to him. A wave of home sickness hits him. Climbing up those trees in the forest, collecting the edible plants, and learning about axes with his father. Then he thinks about here. Has he even made any friends? Yes there's Cecily. Then talked a little more through the rest of training. She showed him some knife skills while he showed her how to handle an axe. Though she had told him she wasn't interested in having an ally's. he had nodded his head getting it. It was a shame though. She would have been an excellent one to have. Pushing the thoughts from his head he finishes the climbing and looks to the game makers. They nod their heads in dismissal. He leaves. He briefly passes Lily and she gives him a small smile and for the first time, he returns it.

Lily was a little shocked. Drake wasn't such a jerk after all. She walks into the room and it feels a little creepy. It isn't full of all the trainers and tributes so it feels pretty much empty. She shrugs walking to her weapon of choice. Axes of course. She picks up her favorite and hacks away at the dummies. She might have evilly laughed too she wasn't sure. She continued hacking until she had no more dummies to dismember. Then she turned to the throwing axes. She hits the middle each time. Smirking she picks up the last axe and throws. It's a perfect hit. Lily takes a breathe. Did that just happen? Omigod it did. Yes! A minor victory for Lily. The game makers look pleased. She really doesn't know what to do know. So she settles on building a fire. She walks over there and immediately creates a spark. She gathers the tinder and lights a fire adding dry twigs and leaves occasionally. All said and done the fire is huge. She grabs some water and douses it. The game makers nod their heads and she's dismissed.

Maria has a plan. She doesn't know if its good or bad she just needs to do it. It may make or break her. So when her name is called she jumps up and rushes into the room. She runs to the knife station and picks out a dagger. She positions a dummy the way she wants along with the dagger. She backs up and prepares. She takes a starting run, preps, then does a triple back handspring, picking up the dagger in the middle, then preforms a back tuck landing and slashing open the dummy's neck. Maria praises herself for not falling on her butt. She usually would. She just has pure adrenaline coursing through her veins. She smiles up at the game makers. She has done a great job. Let's hope it pays off. She slices up a few more dummies before she is let go. Did she do enough?

Kole tapped his fingers on the table absently. He was nervous. What if he messed up? Would they laugh at him? Probably not but he was still shaking. At last his name was called. He stood up and walked nervously into the room. He eyed the game makers and they told him to begin. He nods and heads over to the javelins. He picks up a few and positions himself in front of a dummy. He throws his first one. It clatters uselessly to the ground past the dummy. His face goes red with embarrassment. He tries again. This time it catches the dummy's shoulder. Better but not so good. As he throws one after another he gets better. Ending with always hitting center. He feels a strange sense of pride. Maybe he does have a chance in these games after all. He keeps on throwing them. He doesn't have much else he's good at so this is the best he can do. Though it seems like its enough.

George watched as Scarlet disappeared into the room. He still had no idea what he was going to do. Run? That's all he's good at. So running it is. 14 short minutes later his name is called. He nods his head at Cecily and walks nervously into the room. The game makers motion for him to start. One guy falls over. Drunk. Great. He gets in his starting position and takes off running. The game makers pause for a minute then burst out laughing. George is pretty sure his face is beat red. He shakes his head and runs faster. The game makers stop laughing and study him. He is going pretty fast. His feet are killing him. But hey, they are starting to look impressed. So George takes that as a good sign. He stops running and looks for the cue to leave. He gets it and gets out of there.

Thomas is literally biting his nails. Chesh is looking at him like he's insane but whatever. Just anxious that's all. His name is finally called. What is he good at? Plants and crap. Awesome. Just awesome. He awkwardly walks to the edible plants station. He quietly takes the plant test. He passes it with flying colors. So he decides to make a fake meal for them. More like one of their healthy dishes. What was it called? A salad? Yes, he'll make a salad. He puts some of the green leafs at the bottom then put some roots on top. He yells "Cook first!" to the game makers pointing at the roots he chose. He adds some berries and assorted leaves. Like mint. By the time he's done he has pretty good looking salad in front of him. He looks to the game makers. They drunkly excuse him. He gratefully goes.

Fredrick hates waiting. Almost as much as he hates the Capitol. His name is called he stands up and walks in. What to do what to do. Then he knows. He sits straight down in the middle of the room. He gives the game makers an evil eye. They stare at him like he's the dumbest person in the world. Their staggering around drunk and I'm the stupid one? Yea no. So he sits there now smirking at them. He doesn't have to play their games. Fredrick has a surprise for them though. He waits for the last 30 seconds then acts. They look at him in surprise. She sprints over to the knife station, scoops up one knife, and waits. He walks up to a dummy very slowly and stabs its arm. All the game makers face palm. Haha! False hope for you losers! They excuse him and he practically skips out of the room.

Natalya is waiting patiently while her moron of a district partner finishes his session. What is he doing? Sitting in the middle of the room again? Probably. What an idiot. He's so getting a 0. A 1 if he's lucky. No wonder 12 is the laughing stock of Panem. Idiots like him always get reaped. God he is ruining her chances of even being sponsors. She half wonders if when the gong sounds if he's going to take one step and sit down on the ground. Yep, that's probably his plan. Finally her name is called. She has absolutely no idea what to do. She is just going to do survival skills. She starts at the snare station and makes a few of those. Then she camoflauges her arm into blending in with the tree bark. Then she builds a small fire. The bugs. After that plants. Finally she makes a hammock. She decides to leave it at that. So being the last tribute Natalya walks out with an okay attitude.

* * *

**Kk so poll results!**

**In first place with 5 votes we have... Stephen!**

**In second place with 4 votes we have... Ariana!**

**In third place with 3 votes we have... Leigha!**

**In fourth place with 2 votes we have... Natalie!**

**In fifth place with 1 vote we have... Sia, Towner,** **Drake**,** Lily, Scarlet, Cecily, Thomas, Chesh, Fredrick, and Natalya!**

**And in sixth place with 0 votes we have... Kaleb, Sawyer, Kai, Reiyn, Sebastian, Libra, Scorpio, Maria, Kole, and George! **

**Ok was not especting Stephen to win. Like at all. Ok so a new poll is up! As always review please! **

**~Kendyl~**


	10. Training Scores

**Hello there. New poll up. Please vote. Ok so R&R. Love you guys. Bye!**

**~Kendyl~**

* * *

As all of Panem waited anxiously to hear what the tributes have scored Gary Flickerman was getting his make-up done. This year he was sporting a forest green look. He was handed a paper with the score neatly printed and escorted to the stage. Here he would announce the scores for every on in Panem to hear. "And, 1" "Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!" he greets the mock crowd. "Its time to hear our fabulous tributes training scores!" he says with more enthusiasm then before.

"Alright! First up is Stephen Talcott of district 1 receiving a... 9!" in the tv room of district 1 Stephen received high fives and good jobs. None of which came from Natalie. She was praying for a 10. "Natalie Warner receives a... 9 as well!" Natalie cursed under her breath then shouted out, "I call being the leader of the pack!" she smirks. See in training the leader was to be from 1 seeing as how 2 didn't want to lead and Kai was just the sponsor guy. So the person with the higher score is the leader. Since they tied, it was a who ever calls it first. Natalie it is.

"Now its time for district 2!" "Kaleb Tides receives a... 9!" Kaleb receives a ton of great jobs which most come from Sia. "Sia Delaria receives a... 10!" there is a lot of congratulating bouncing on the walls in the room on 2's floor.

"Ok Sawyer Coleman of 3 receives a...7!" Sawyer swears loudly and it makes Leigha cringe. How in Panem did he manage that? That's a great score! "Leigha Marx receives a... 5!" Leigha shrugs her shoulders knowingly. Her trap kinda malfunctioned. She was lucky to get that score.

"Kai Rose of district 4 receives an... 8!" Kai's shoulders slump. He scored the lowest in the pack. He's so screwed. "Miss Towner Hills is receiving a...9!" "My, my that's a lot of 9's!" Towner had to laugh. 9 was nothing special. To her at least.

"Reiyn Tucker receives an...8!" Reiyn is shocked. He was not expecting that. Ariana narrows her eyes at him. "The flirtatious Ariana Dixon receives a...9!" Ariana jumps up in victory. "Wait! I made a mistake she actually receives an 8. Sorry about that!" She sits down disappointed.

"Ok moving on to Sebastian Polar. He receives a...6!" Sebastian is spaced out so he probably didn't even hear his score. "Libra Jonea receives a...5!" Libra looks down. She couldn't beat out a spaced out kid. How does that happen?

"Now for Drake Martin! He receives a...7!" Lily pats his back awkwardly. He is much better than that. Poor kid. "Lily Moore receives a...9!" "Called it!" she says pointing at the guy on the screen. Drake gave her a small hug. She returned it. He kind of reminded her of Peter only younger.

"Next up Scorpio Rider of 8 receiving a...5!" Maria was shocked. No freaking way. Scorpio? A 5? Were they on something? "Maria Kingston receiving a...7!" She gasped. She out scored Scorpio! She may have a chance.

"Alrighty time for Mr. Kole Darwin. He receives a...6!" Kole shrugs. That's a pretty good score. "Scarlet Red receives a...7!" Kole smiles at her. They have done well.

"Getting towards the end! George Van Loon receives a...3!" George turns pink. That's the down side right there. "Cecily Rose receives an...8!" George feels even worse. She smiles sadly at him as if to say "Just wait. There is still more!"

"Almost done! Thomas Winter receives a...3!" Holy crap. A salad got him that? He mentally pats himself on the back. "The mysterious Chesh Shira receives a...6!" excellent. She thinks. That's a perfect score for her.

"Finally district 12! Fredrick Kennedy receives a...1!" Natalya is surprised. "What did you do in there?" she asks him. He shrugs. "I sat in the middle of the room until the last 30 seconds then grabbed a knife and walked up to a dummy and stabbed it in the arm" "You're an idiot" she tells him. He got a 1. She thinks he should have got a 0. "Finally Natalya Parak receives a...4!" she exhales. That's pretty good. She guesses.

* * *

**Yay! Interviews are in the next chapters! Yes! So again R&R. Two updates in one day. Go me! You might get a new chapter tomorrow. Might. Love reviews. They make me happy!**

**~Kendyl~**


	11. The Interviews Part 1

**Kk so the first batch of interviews! This will be districts 1 through 6! Don't kill me! Just want to split it up! Alright check out the poll. This one won't be up too long. Also! Fredrick's got some fans out there. Anyway, please review.**

**Disclaimer: I am not 50 years old. Meaning I am not Suzanne Collins. Meaning I do not own The Hunger Games.**

**~Kendyl~**

As Gary Flickerman got the crowd excited the tributes nervously awaited their interviews. Natalie however, was itching to get out on that stage. So when Gary Flickerman announced her name she strode onto the stage showing off her gorgeous gown. It's a black gown with some purple lace design at the top. It goes to about mid thigh and poofs out. She takes a seat opposite Gary. "Hi there Natalie!" "Hello Gary" she says in a seductive purr. She's going for sexy. "How are you feeling about these games?" "I can not wait! You know what my family thought of me volunteering for this thing? They thought I was crazy! Can you believe that?" she asks him with some lust in her voice. She hopes she's pulling this off. "I certainly can not! So Natalie tell us, who's the leader of the pack this year?" she smirks. "Why, me of course! Who else?" "Right, right so Natalie is there a special someone back home?" "Yes, his name is Aaron." she says nonchalantly. "Well, may I just say he is one lucky guy" he says winking at her. She fakes a giggle. "Why, thank you Gary!" She says with a winning smile. "Do you think you have what it takes to win?" "Why, of course." she says right as the buzzer goes off. They both stand up, he announces her name once more, and she takes a seat in the front row.

"Up next Stephen Talcott!" Stephen put on a cocky smirk at walked onto the stage. The crowd roared as he took his seat. There was a silence as the crowd looked over his outfit. He was dressed in clothes similar to his reaping one. The shirt was changed to red, while the waistcoat and trousers were changed to black. His hair was neatly combed over making him look very suave. "So Stephen! What's it like having miss Warner as a district partner?" Stephen eyes his partner. She scoffs and turns her gaze to her nails. He shrugs. "She's pretty crazy, but she's great." he says smiling evenly at her. She looks furious. Apparently he was supposed to tell them she hated him. Then he hears what she must have been hearing. Awws from the audience. Oops. He laughs nervously. "She really doesn't like me for some reason but she's a great district partner to be paired with." he says hoping he covered his mistake in words. The way Natalie exhales tells him he has succeeded. "Ok so Stephen, we all know about your siblings. Both of whom are _very_ popular in the Capitol. Why another volunteer?" he sighs. "You see Gary, when new victors come along they take away the limelight. I'm prepared to put it back on the Talcott family." Natalie smirks in the audience then yells, "Not if I have anything to say about it!" the whole room laughs. "Ah, a bit of friendly competition I see." he gazes at Natalie. "Always" he says and the buzzer goes off. He exits the stage and takes his seat next to her.

"Time for our favorite this year, its Sia Delaria!" the crowd erupts into applause as she steps onto the stage. She is dressed in a white ballgown with draped red satin on either side. Her hair is pulled into an up do and she wears her token around her wrist. Upon further inspection her token is a thin leather bracelet with a key attached. She sits down. "So nice to meet you Sia! How does it feel to be the favorite?" she smiles ever so slightly. "It feels amazing knowing you are sure to have a ton of sponsors!" she states with a knowing wink at the end. "So im dying to know, what does the key open?" he says pointing at the key on her wrist. "This? Oh it opens a chest back home." he rolls his hand as if to say go on. "It contains my first knife I ever used way back when I was 7" she explains. She's not sure why she's telling these people about it but hey, they asked. "So Sia, your district partner, Kaleb, what do you think of him?" "Kaleb been a great friend. I wish I had meet him under different circumstances. That would have been nice." Gary nods. "One last question, you scored that amazing 10! How did you do it?" "Tsk tsk my lips are sealed" she says pretending to lock her mouth and throw the key away. The audience groans. She smiles as the buzzer goes off and she takes a seat next to her fellow allies in the front row.

"Up next, Kaleb Tides!" He walks evenly desperately trying not to trip. With his luck he would. The crowd stops and admires his striking silver suit. He looks quite good. He takes his seat folding his hands neatly in his lap. Here goes nothing. "Why hello Kaleb!" "A hello to you as well Gary." he says with a fake smile. "Ok so right off the bat is there anyone special waiting for you back in 2?" he takes a breath. "Yes my fiancé Delilah." he says not meeting the crowds gaze. He really doesn't want to talk about it. "My my she must be hysterical!" he manages a small smile. "Yeah, she must be." "Ok, moving on! Kaleb, what are your thoughts on Natalie being the leader?" he shrugs. "She's meant to lead something. She's awfully bossy." the crowd erupts in laughter. He's really screwing his angle up. He is supposed to be intimidating. So much for that. So he throws on a smile and continues his jokes with Gary. Then Gary asks the golden question. "Why did you volunteer if you were engaged?" he sits in stunned silence. Then he finds his words. "My fa-" he is cut off by the sound of the buzzer. Saved by the bell it seems. His name is announced once more, then he takes his seat next to Sia.

"Now for Leigha Marx!" she awkwardly walks on the stage. She dressed in a skin tight silver mini dress with matching accessories. She also has on lipstick and eyeliner. Did she mention awkward? Shuffling she takes her seat opposite Gary. "why you look stunning tonight miss Marx!" "Thanks" she mumbles under her breath. "What was that? I didn't catch it." he asks. "Thanks" she says more loudly. "Oh well you are very welcome! Bit quiet are we?" she doesn't respond. "Ok well, moving on! So Leigha any friends back home?" she purses her lip. "Yeah my best friend Aviva. She's like the sister I never had." she says. "Well then, your going to go out there tomorrow and give it all you got!" she nods her head. "Anyone else you would like to see?" she thinks for a moment then says, "Well my parents of course, but also my dog, Ashleigh." the audience gives a small chuckle. "Your dog, eh?" she smiles. "That's correct!" then she realizes what he's trying to do. Bring her out of her shell. Frick it worked. "So Leigha, what do you think is your biggest strengths in these games?" "That's easy. My smarts of course!" "I would not expect anything different!" "Why in fact I have a plan for this thing!" "Please do share!" "As Sia said not that long ago my lips are sealed." and just as she finishes her sentence the buzzer goes off indicating her time is through. Her name is announced and she takes a seat in the front row.

"Time for Sawyer Coleman!" he struts onto the stage sporting a crisp suit. He puts on a charming smile, shakes Gary's hand, and takes his seat. "So Sawyer, I was surprised when you only got a 7! What was your reaction?" "I believe I swore very loudly and threw stuff. That's correct right Leigha?" he says turning to his district partner. She nods her head violently. The crowd laughs along with Gary. "So do you have any siblings?" "Yup. My little sister, Stacey, and my little brother, Matt." "So Sawyer, do you have any predictions as to who may be a bloodbath?" he smirks. "Yeah probably that guy from 12. He sat down during training." the crowd dies in laughter. "Really?" Gary asks. "Really." he confirms. "Well, we'll have to watch him!" "Yes, yes you will." the crowd quiets down. "Last question, do you think you can win?" "Well, with sponsors sure. Without them I'm screwed." the buzzer goes off and he sits down next to Leigha.

"Alright time for Miss Towner Hills!" She almost floats onto the stage. She has an elegant ocean blue dress that flows wildly. Her hair is adorned with pearl hair clip and she's decked out in pearl jewelry. She is simply beautiful. She shakes Gary's hand and takes a seat. "Towner may I just say you look absolutely stunning tonight!" "Why thank you Gary, you don't look that bad either." she says gesturing to his forest green tux. "Miss Hills don't make me blush." he says doing so anyway. She puts on her dazzling smile. "It was just a complement. I didn't mean to make you blush!" "Well that's quite alright. So Towner, how do _you_ feel about Natalie being the leader of the pack?" "Actually, I'm not in an alliance with the careers." the crowd gasps. "Why ever not?" "See, my cousin was reaped for the games, and she allied with them. They turned on her just as the bloodbath ended. I've had a thing against them since then." she explains not making eye contact with them. The audience acts sympathetic. She doesn't buy it. Their itching to see what she does for "revenge". Whatever. "Towner, your time went fast! One more question. Is there a special someone back home?" "No, but I've liked this guy forever. I'm just afraid he doesn't like me back." she tells him. "Oh, with you beauty! I'm sure he does!" the buzzer goes off and she takes a seat.

"Kai Rose!" Kai simply walks on the stage and is met with screams from his fan girls. His grey suit with black undershirt with sea green tie makes his eyes pop. He winks at every screaming girl he can see. He takes a seat. "So Kai, you have some fan girls I see?" "Of course. Who wouldn't want this?" he says gesturing to his body. Gary gives a hearty laugh. "My, my quite the flirt aren't we?" "Always! I mean have you seen the women here? I must say some of the girl tributes aren't too bad looking either." he says winking at Towner. She rolls her eyes. She a tough nut to crack. "Well, you here that ladies? You have an admirer here!" they scream with approval. "Anyway, Kai do you have any siblings?" "Yes. My little sister Mia. She's considered the prettiest girl in her year." he says talking up his sister. "Ah looks runs in the family eh?" "Yes the story was even the same for our parents!" "Well then! The Rose family has some luck now don't they!" "Yes, yes we do!" "Well I'm sure you have plenty of sponsors!" "Yes I'm sure I do." and just as he said the buzzer goes off. He stands up and walks down to take a seat next to Towner.

"Miss Ariana Dixon!" she walks out calmly in a floor length white gown with roses pinned up one shoulder. She looks elegant, not like her flirtatious self. She sits in the hot seat. "Well, well if it isn't the flirtatious Ariana. How are you feeling today?" "Amazing! Why I feel like the gong has already sounded. I have an adrenaline rush!" "Well I am sorry to say you will have to wait until tomorrow. Anyway, what do think of that Kai fellow?" "He's sexy. Like really sexy!" from the audience he gives her a sexy smirk. She returns it with a wink. "Well, well our two flirt tributes flirting with each other. Couldn't get much better than this!" "Any questions Gary?" "Yes, yes so I hear your uncle was a previous victor. Did he help at all?" "Well of course! He trained me in case I was ever reaped!""I see. So Ariana do you think you could win?" "Why, I have a good of chance as anyone! So, yes I do think I could." "Well, I can not wait to see how you preform in the arena!""I'll make sure I give you guys a show!" the crowd roars with applause. She smiles. This is going to be a piece of cake. The buzzer goes off and she sits next to Kai and continues flirting.

"Mr. Reiyn Tucker!" the crowd lets off ooh's and awe's as he walks out. His white suit is inlaid with colorful wires that actually spark. He looks like he's glowing. He takes his seat. "You look amazing Mr. Tucker!" "Why, thank you! But I have to give credit to my amazing stylist!" the audience cheers for his stylist. "Well, how did Miss. Dixon react when I read her score wrong?" "Let's see, she jumped up and yelled when you said the 9, then when you fixed your mistake she sat down embarrassed." He nods his head. "I'm sorry about the mistake. Anyway, Reiyn you also got an 8. How did you do it?" "You'll have to wait and see!" the crowd groans. "Can you give us a hint?" Reiyn shakes his head. "Oh well! Reiyn, are you interested in Miss Dixon?" "No" he answers quickly. She's gross in his opinion. "Really? Well, I guess she does have Mr. Rose over there." they both wink. Idiots. "Well our time is almost up. Any thing to add Mr. Tucker?" he thinks for a moment. "Nah, I'm good." "Well in that case, Reiyn Tucker everyone!"

"Let's bring out Libra Jonea!" she shyly steps out in a cute little red dress with matching flats. She also has a red bow tied in her hair. Its styled similar to the way it was at reaping. She takes her seat. "Hello Libra. How have you been?" "Good" she says in a small voice. He doesn't hear her but moves on. "A bit shy are we?" she nods keeping her head down. He spots the ring on her finger. "That's a pretty ring. Who got it for you?" "It was my mother's wedding ring." she says in the same small voice. He just catches it. "What happened to your father?" she grows slightly angry. "He walked out on us." she says in the loudest voice yet. She has major stage fright. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that!" "Thank you." she says returning to her small voice. Gary is having a hard time with this one. "Libra, what's your favorite thing about home?" she lights up. "My mother. She's the best! She can barely afford to put food on the table but she bought me my reaping dress brand new! How awesome is that?" she asks in excited voice. "That's really awesome! She sounds like a great mom! So you had to take Tesserae?" she bows her head. "Yeah, but not to bad. We only need a little!" the buzzer sounds and she hops her little self off the stage.

"Our last tribute before we take an intermission, Sebastian Polar!" he walks out in a black suit with a blue shirt underneath. The cuffs of the suit are a shimmering gold. He sits down. "Hello Sebastian! I'm liking the suit." he says pointing to his suit. "Thank you." he says flatly. Crap that was hostile. "So your district partner, Libra is she nice to you?" "Yes she's great. She a little cutie too. If I wanted a younger sister it would be her." he says truthfully. She's been patient with him and nothing but sweet. "That's great! A strong friendship I see?" "Yes, she's awesome." he says smiling at her. She returns it. He hasn't even zoned out yet. Progress! "Sebastian, do you think you could win?" "Eh... probably not. I'm not exactly skilled." "Everyone has a chance!" "The odds just aren't in my favor that's all." he says shrugging his shoulders. He'll probably zone out and get stabbed in the back or something. Probably. Crap he just zoned out. "Im sorry did you ask me something?" "Yes, who are you betting on winning?" he ponders for a moment then says, "Whoever has the most sponsors, the most skills, and the most intelligence. So I'd say right now, probably the girl from 2. The odds are in her favor too. So I'd bet on her." he says after close calculations. The buzzer sounds. "Thank you Sebastian! We'll be right back after a short intermission!" and the screen cuts to commercial.

**So what did you think? After I'm done with the interviews, I'm going to put the girls dresses up on my profile. I did the same for their reaping outfits. I didn't do the boys but if you want to see them let me know. Anyway, review and vote on the poll. The results will be in the bloodbath a/n at the top so vote! Love you all! P.S. I am submitting the first chapter of that Johanna story. So look out for that.**

**~Kendyl~**


	12. The Interviews Part 2

**Hello! Last batch of interviews! 7 through 12. Review please!**

**Disclaimer: you get the picture. I don't own the Hunger Games**

**~Kendyl~**

* * *

"Were back with Miss Lily Moore!" she walks calmly onto the stage wearing a knee length purple and green dress. She sits down opposite Gary. "Hello Miss Moore! How are you doing?" "Fine. Yourself?" she asks him. "I'm doing quite good. Now, what has been your favorite thing about the Capitol?" she thinks for a moment. "Well, the people are great and the food is too... but my favorite thing would have to be the clothes." she says truthfully. She has loved every outfit she has been put in. "The clothes? Really?" "Yep. They are truly beautiful! I mean have you seen this dress?" she says standing up and spinning around. The green and purple in her dress seem to blend together as she goes faster. It actually is a beautiful sight. She sits back down. Gary smiles. "Simply gorgeous miss Moore!" "Thank you! My stylists are brilliant!" "So! Your district partner, Drake, do you two get along?" "We didn't at first, but I think we've warmed up to each other." she replies. "I see. Have you made any other friends?" "No, I really haven't." "That's a shame. Miss Moore, what did you think of your chariot costume?" "I know they do the tree thing each year but, I thought it was really beautiful. The wrapped vines helped." she states. Sure their costume wasn't top notch but she loved it just the same. The buzzer goes off. "Well, well seems our clothes talking has made us run out of time. Lily Moore everyone!" he exclaims thrusting her arm into the air. She takes her seat in the front.

"Let's bring out Drake Martin!" he steps out in slick black trousers, a dress shirt, and a classy sweater vest. He sits down. "Hello Drake! So nice to finally meet you!" "Its nice to meet you too Gary." "So Drake! Have _you_ made any friends?" he thinks for a moment. "Yes" "Who?" "The district 10 girl, Cecily." "Really? Well, Drake what is your favorite thing about home?" "That's easy. My mom." Gary is taken aback. His mom? "Why?" "See, she became disabled when I was five, so I took care of her when my dad had to work, so I always had my mom for company." he explains. Great now he's going to get the sympathy vote. Not was he was going for. "That's amazing. Just five and you took care of her? Wow." "Yeah, now who's gonna? You see my dad has to work all day and I'm an only child." the crowd lets off sympathetic awes. He doesn't want their sympathy. He just wants to win. For his mom. "Well, tell you what you use your skills, and you Mr. Martin should be alright." Gary tells him. "Now, are you in an alliance with miss Cecily?" Gary asks him. "No, she wasn't interested in having an allies." he tells him. Gary nods his head. "That's a shame. So do you think you have what it takes to win?" "Um I guess if I hide maybe, but I'll need some sponsors." he says almost pleadingly. There are some cheers from the crowd. Sponsors. Yes. He takes a seat with a smile on his face.

"Next up Maria Kingston!" she skip hops on the stage dressed in a short olive green dress with matching flats. Instead of shaking Gary's hand, Maria full on throws her arms around him giving him a bear hug. He's taken aback, but returns the hug. As she sits down she has the biggest smile on her face. "Hello Maria!" "Hiya Gary!" she says with a ton of enthusiasm. "Well, someone's excited." he states. "Oh, yes. Im really excited. Plus, I tasted this best thing ever! Its called soda! I had like 20 of them!" that explains it. Gary thinks to himself. Caffeine. "So, Maria I hear you can do some pretty amazing flips!" "Yes! Back home they called me a freak! Its nice for people to be impressed instead of calling me names!" she says. Down in the audience Drake cringes. He hates that word. Freak. "That's horrible! So you taught yourself?" "Yes! See my parents made me do house work so I needed to do something besides that." she tells them. She's full on bouncing in her chair. Super hyper. "Ok, Maria your favorite thing about the Capitol?" "Ummmmmmm the soda!" "Haha called it. Maria your favorite flip?" "That's easy! A layout! They're so much fun! I would demonstrate but, im in a dress!" "Well, that's truly a shame," the buzzer goes off. She smiles and jumps up and skips to her seat in the front row.

"Alright, Scorpio Rider!" he walks out in a green dress shirt with a pair of black dress pants. "So Scorpio, how was dealing with miss hyper Maria?" Scorpio smiles. "It was funny, our mentor told her to stop drinking the soda, so she threw a fork at him." the audience dies laughing. "That's very funny, anyone you would like to say hi to back home?" "Yeah actually, a quick shout out to my grandpa!" he turns back to Gary. "You know what he said to me when he was saying goodbye?" "What did he say?" "He said if I died in the bloodbath he'd kick my wooden box I'd be shipped back in." the crowd dies again. "Well, you better make it passed eh?" "Your telling me." this was going better than Scorpio had planned. It was easy going making fun of his grandpa. He was actually enjoying himself. "So Scorpio, how do think Maria out scored you?" he frowned. Then smiled. "Have you seen that girl flip? She should have got a 9 in my opinion." "Not a 10?" "Then your comparing her to miss Delaria, and miss Delaria is amazing with her knives." he says matter o factly. Sia shrugs in the front row. What a suck up she thought. The buzzer goes off. He shakes Gary's hand and sits next to bouncing betty.

"Up next, Scarlet Red!" she suppresses a fake smile and steps out onto the stage. She is dressed in a short emerald colored dress and matching heels. Green seems to be the "it" color this year. "Hello Scarlet! I must say I love your hair color." he says pointing to her fiery red hair. "Thanks, red hair seems to be doubled this year" she says referring to Cecily's red locks. "Why yes, along with last names." they both laugh. This maybe would not be bad Scarlet thought. So she smiled truly and got ready for the next question. "So Scarlet, any friends back home?" "Yes. My best friend Tara Day. She's amazing!" "Parents?" "Yeah, but I hardly see them." she says shrugging. She doesn't mind. Her parents could care less about her. "Romance?" her smile drops. "There was a guy..." she trails off. Thankfully Gary doesn't pry. "Ok, moving on! Well Scarlet... have you made any friends?" "No not really, just my district partner mainly." she tells him. It's the truth though. "Kole? He's a nice guy?" "Yeah, he's pretty cool." "One more question... Do you think you could win?" she ponders for a moment. "Sure, but I probably won't so as long as I go out with my pride, I'll be good." she says as the buzzer goes off. She stands and walks off stage.

"Now for Kole Darwin!" he walks out in a wheat colored suit and tan dress shoes. He takes a seat. "So Kole what is your favorite thing about home?" "Defiantly my little sister Cami." he says without missing a beat. Gary has to smile. "Tell me about her." "Well she's got blond hair, blue eyes, the cutest little giggle, pinch able cheeks, and the cutest little smile." he says rambling on about her. "I see. Well you'll just have to win these things and get back to her." if only it was that easy Kole thought to himself. "Yeah that's what I'll have to do." he said not voicing his actual thoughts. "Anyway, what do you think of miss Red?" "She's pretty awesome really, she helped me out in training and stuff." Scarlet smiles. She may have a decent ally in the games if he's willing. "Well, that's good. Anyway, I liked your chariot costume." "Thanks I did too." the buzzer goes off. He sits down next to Scarlet.

"Alright up next, Cecily Rose!" she gracefully walks out in an elegant gold floor length gown. Her hair is in curls and her golden heels are at least 4 inches. She sweeps her gown under her as she sits down. "Hello miss Rose you look stunning tonight." he compliments. "Thank you so much! This has to be my favorite dress yet!" she exclaims. "It has to mine too! Alright so earlier Mr. Martin said you two were kinda friends. Are you?" "Yeah, he scared me to death on the climbing course so we talked and helped each other out." she says . "I see. Anyway, what goes on back home?" "When I was 13 my parents died in a house fire so I've been living with my brother and his family. I volunteered for my niece." she tells them. Everyone in the crow puts on an aww face. I don't need these people. Whatever. "That's awfully nice of you Cecily, tell me what's you favorite thing about your niece?" she thinks. "Her smile. It can light up a room." she says finding a smile creeping up on her face. That's when it hits her. She misses home so much. She could die tomorrow. Her smile drops and she's afraid she's going to start crying. "Last questio-" the buzzer cuts him off. Gratefully she takes her seat in the front row.

"Let's bring out George Van Loon!" he nervously walks out in his brown suit. His hair is neatly combed over and honestly he feels awkward. "Welcome George! How's the Capitol treating you?" "It is pretty awesome here. I just miss home." he says lowering his eyes. Gary pats his back sympathetically. "Well you go out there and give it all you got and you will." Gary tells him. George nods sadly. "Ok" he mutters and picks his head up. "Ok so what is your favorite thing about home?" "My bedroom. It's the attic basically." he says his voice barely a whisper. "That's very cool George. What would you say is your strength in the arena?" he snorts. "Running" he says really loud and dies laughing. Everyone's looking at him funny but he doesn't care. He's so screwed its not even funny. Though to him it is. "I am so screwed" he says equally as loud still dying with laughter. Still the same funny looks. He can't stop laughing. So when the buzzer sounds he laughs all the way to his seat.

"Now for the mysterious Chesh Shira!" she emerges from the shadows in a creme colored dress that stops at her ankles. She sweeps across the stage to her seat. "Hello miss Shira! You have been the talk of the town. Your freaking some people out." she laughs darkly. "Well the people are quite interesting here. Their probably creeped out from my stealth." she says shrugging it off. "I see, so a 6! That's a great score considering your from 11." "Thank you much. I like to be surprising." she says with a sly grin. "Im sure you do. Any how, I hear your actually from the better part of 11. Were you surprised when you were reaped?" "Yeah, I'm sure everyone is but I told my brothers it only took one. Do you think they listened to me? Uh no. So here I sit talking to you." she says. Stupid brothers. Listen to your sister for once in your lives. "Yes I'm afraid it does only take one. You'll just have to use your stealth to your advantage." "I will" she says with an affirming nod. This makes him smile. "So you think you can win?" "Yeah I mean that is if I don't do anything stupid." the crowd laughs and she smiles. She is really pulling of her mysterious yet determined angle. "That's great Chesh. I just might have to sponsor you." he says with a wink. "Don't say that here!" she says with fake alarm then smiles again. The freaking buzzer just has to sound. She stands and takes her spot next to George.

"Thomas Winter!" he walks out in a bright yellow suit. His cheeks are red with embarrassment. Do his stylist hate him or something? "Hello Thomas, that's an interesting suit." "Hi and I know. My stylist must hate me." the crowd dies laughing. "I guess so. So a 3 eh? How did that happen?" "I made the game makers a salad." more laughter. "A salad? Out of edible plants?" "Yeah, not good with weapons..." he trails off. He's said to much. The careers are smirking. Chesh is shaking her head. He's a complete idiot. Hey careers! Come and kill me! It'll be easy! Now he understands why people are betting on Chesh. He's a pebble next to a rock. Which one would you pick up if you wanted to win a fight? He'd choose the rock. The crowd hasn't stopped laughing and his time is almost up. Gary tells them to quiet down so he can ask the final question. "Anyway, who do you have waiting at home for you?" "My grandma and my parents." thankfully the buzzer goes off and he sits next to shadow Chesh.

"The brilliant Natalya Parak!" she sways onto the stage dressed in a frilly white lace dress. "Why hello there miss Parak, how are you tonight?" "Im great Gary! How are you?" "Great thanks for asking. What has been your favorite thing about the Capitol?" "Besides the fact that its beautiful? Um the food." "The food? Your favorite dish?" "There's this dish with some type of bird and some orange sauce. I love that! So much better than Tesserae bread." she says her mouth watering at the thought of it. "Ah yes! Its one of my favorites as well. Though im sure anything is better than Tesserae bread." "You got that right." she says. "What do you think of your district partner?" he asks. She snickers. "I think he's a complete idiot. I mean he sat in the middle of the floor the whole training day's we had!" "Really? Well that's not going to help him." "I tried to get him to train but he refused. I gave up and left him there." she explains. "Well, we'll have to see his side of the story then." "Yes, yes you will." she says shaking her head. She's got 30 seconds. Ok focus Natalya. "Oh my, one last question, if you were to win... who would move into the victor house with you?" she frowns. "My little brother, Wyan. That's it." the buzzer once more goes off. She stands up and walks down the stage steps to the front row.

"Our final tribute, Fredrick Kennedy!" he folds his arms in front of his chest, grunts, then walks to his seat. He plops down. Natalya gasps. He's actually sitting in a chair! "Good evening Mr. Kennedy, how has your day been?" he asks as if Fredrick was five years old. Which by the way he's acting he might as well be. "Fine" he spits back. He hates Gary Flickerman. He's a green weirdo. "That's good, tell us what did you do for your training session?" "I sat down, waited for the last 30 seconds, stood up, grabbed a knife, slowly walked up to a dummy, and stabbed it in the arm." Natalya puts her head in her hands. There goes district 12's sponsors. Natalie dies laughing. This guy was her's. "All that and you only got a 1? I'll have to talk to the game makers about that." Gary says trying to get this kid to cheer up. "Whatever, I don't care what they think." he grumbles. Gary frowns. This kid isn't going to budge. "So what do you think of miss Parak?" "She's cool, I guess." "Ok, um do you like your outfit?" he looks down at the classic suit he's dressed in. "I hate it." to the relief of the Capitol audience the buzzer goes of. He joins his fellow tributes just as the anthem starts to play...

* * *

**Woo! Done with the interviews! Bloodbath is up next. Anyone excited? Horray for Fredrick! He sat in a chair! To all the Fredrick fan girls I hope you enjoyed it! Ok review Please!**

**~Kendyl~ **


	13. Bloodbath

Dun dun dun the bloodbath is here! Who's excited? Any how poll results.

Q who's your favorite freak/crazy/weirdo/rudeish person in the 23rd games?

In first place... Ariana Dixon!

In second place... Fredrick Kennedy and Maria Kingston!

In third place... Sebastian Polar and Natalie Warner!

In fourth place... Drake Martin, Chesh Shira, and Thomas Winter!

Ariana= 4

Maria and Fredrick=3

Sebastian and Natalie=1

the rest=0

those are the results! Ok time for things to begin.

~Kendyl~

Before the start of the games the 24 tributes are required to stand on a metal plate for 60 seconds. Step off before that, and your blown to bits.

60

Libra stands nervously on her plate shifting her weight from foot to foot. She stands between the girl from 1and the boy from 3. Taking a deep breath she focuses her eyes forward towards the cornucopia.

58

Natalie almost laughs. She gets little miss shy and that moron from 12. She could not ask for a better position. They were both hers.

56

Fredrick could care less about the arena or the people he was placed between. He looked anyway. He stood next to that crazy career chick and the screwy guy from 6. He sighs and looks at the arena. A forest. I bet 7's happy. Whatever. He looks at the cornucopia. Maybe?

54

Don't zone out. Don't zone out. Don't zone out. Sebastian repeats this over and over again in his head. He looks to his right to see the moronic guy from 12. To his left? Sia. Oh boy.

52

Sia spots her knives immediately. Stephen better not touch them or she'll personally stab him through the heart. The arena is a freaking forest again too. This will be fun. Not.

50

Towner looks to her right only to see Sia. Then to her left. Drake. She looks at the cornucopia. She sees a ton of spears. And one of those spear holders that go on your back. That's her's too. 46 more seconds Towner.

46

Drake is loving this arena. I mean a forest? District 7's paradise! He spots his throwing axes in the pile. He lines himself up hoping for a get in get out. He's got Towner on his right and Cecily on his left. He should be good to go.

42

Cecily breathes as soon as she see's a ton of knives and daggers this year. She isn't even worried about the people next to her. Drake and Lily. She should be fine.

40

Lily see's a ton of axes and she knows she's gonna own. She's not worried about Cecily. Nor is she worried about Scorpio. What she's worried about is the fact that Scorpio is also lined up towards the axes. This will be fun.

38

Scorpio lines his body up in hopes of grabbing an axe. He notices the girl from 7 on his right doing the same. Screw her. That's his. The boy on his left, Kaleb the careers guy is heading strait towards the swords. He's staying out of his way.

34

Kaleb spots the biggest and deadliest sword first. That one is his. He looks around trying to find Sia. Finally he spots her between Towner and what's his name... Sebastian. That's it. He however is by that boy from 8 and the girl from 3. Piece of cake.

30

Leigha breathes in and out looking for any signs of wire. Finally she spots it. It's a dangerous move, but she's going for it. Its even more dangerous considering she's between two careers, Kaleb and Kai.

28

Kai smirks at the girl from three and she turns away frightened. I guess she should be. I mean she's between him and Kaleb. She's kinda screwed. He's got Ariana on his other side. He throws her a wink and she returns it. She's fun.

26

Ariana got stuck between Kai and Natalya was it? Yeah, Natalya. Maybe she could kill her? She looks like easy pickings. Maybe just maybe.

24

Natalya is slightly creeped out by the way the girl from 5 is looking at her. However the boy from 9 on the other side of her seems to be focused on the cornucopia and nothing else. Hm maybe he'll make it past the bloodbath.

22

Forest, Natalya, and George. That's all Kole needed to know. His eyes are focused on his javelins just past all the small backpacks. He might be able to get them.

20

George is freaking out. Sure he might be the fastest runner but that's not going to save him. Already knowing Kole is on his right he looks to his left. Reiyn. God help him. Holy crap! 14 more seconds. Where has the time gone?

14

Reiyn knows who he's by. He's only slightly worried about the one. Maria. There's no telling what she can do.

12

Maria spots a few daggers and decides she better get at least two. Leave the rest for Cecily. She doesn't want to be killed right here, so she's gonna play it half safe.

10

Chesh is torn. Does she go to the cornucopia or not? Torn. That's a funny word. Everyone here was torn. Torn from their families. Torn from their friends. Torn from their lives. Torn.

9

Scarlet holds her breath getting ready to run.

8

Thomas just wants a backpack that's it! That's what he's going for!

7

Sawyer kisses his dog tags again and prays to god that his family won't have to see him die just yet.

6

All the tributes get in their running stance

5

They all hold their breath

4

3

2

1

Gong!

Sebastian leaps off his plate and sprints for some back packs. He scoops up a small one and a knife just in time to hear the first scream of death. It was Libra's she falls to the ground with an arrow sticking out of her neck. On the other end Natalie is laughing up a storm. "I'm sorry Libra!" He yells over his shoulder running away.

Lily reaches the axe the same time Scorpio does. "That's mine!" she says yanking the axe out of his grasp and burying the blade deep in his chest. She gasps and pulls the axe out. He falls to the ground dead. Snapping back into reality she throws three backpacks over her shoulder and starts to sprint away. She spots Drake. He limping away with a gash in his leg. He has his axes but no back pack. Sprinting over to him she throws one at him. He catches it and mouths thank you. She nods and runs into the forest.

Natalie spins around trying to find the moron from 12. She got the first kill! This is so why she's the leader. She finally see's him. Wait, is that Kai?

Fredrick was fully aware of the boy from 4 running at him. He stood there waiting for his death to come. He felt like he should have some dying words. He smirks and yells at the sky, "I'll see you downstairs Mr. President!" he yells just as the spear enters his stomach and he falls over, dead.

Scarlet stupidly ran right into the fight. Now she's got the girl from two throwing knives at her. Well, she finally hits her mark. Scarlet feels the knife start to enter the back of her neck. She needs her dignity though. So she spins around and flips the girl off and lets death do its thing.

Thomas is just noticing the girl from 1 about to release her arrow and kill him. He quickly ducks the arrow grazing his hair. She curses loudly and notches another. This time he's off by a millisecond. The arrow pierces straight through his heart and he too is dead.

Chesh watches Thomas fall to the ground. Finally the girl has her back turned. Chesh slips into the cornucopia and slips a large backpack on. She sneaks out grabbing a small knife and another backpack and sprints back into the shadows. Time to find some water.

Towner watches as Stephen stabs his sword into the stomach of the boy from 10. She managed to get her spears, and two backpacks. She runs in the direction of the now dead boy. Only he's not dead. He's dying. He is in so much pain. He gives her a pleading look and she knows what she has to do. She tells him she's so sorry and sends the point of her spear into his heart.

**Ok that's done! So RIP Libra, Scorpio, Scarlet, George, Thomas, and Fredrick.**

**Libra- She kind of grew on me a bit. Her shyness made her really cute in a way. She will be missed**

**Scorpio- I guess he should have listened to his grandpa eh? Another great character that had to die**

**Scarlet- What to say about our semi-rebel? I liked her good spirit and semi-sarcastic remarks. Again a great character**

**George- Farmer is really gonna miss him. (Farmer was his horse) any who, he was right about the running thing, it doesn't always save you.**

**Thomas- I'm gonna miss this salad making fool. He was a great character.**

**Fredrick- He will be the most missed. I am truly sorry to all of his fan girls out there, but he was really no good at anything. He will be heavily missed.**

**As always, review please!**

**~Kendyl~**


	14. Broken Ties, mending the knots

Hello once again! Another new poll. Please vote? Thanks. :D you guys are the bomb! Again, im sorry for killing Fredrick. Truly.

~Kendyl~

"That was awesome!" Natalie exclaims throwing her arms up. They had just heard the cannons announcing the death toll. 6. Not a bad number. Sia smirked sharpening her knives. Stephen kept staring daggers at her but she could care less. They were her knives. Her knives. So little Stephen had to use a sword. Only the one's Kaleb didn't want though. "I mean I got the first kill! That was freaking amazing!" Natalie rambles on. "Yeah well, I got the last one" Stephen says. Sia snorts. "Hey moron, no you didn't you injured the guy and Towner had to put him out of his misery!" she said trying to not laugh in his face. He practically deflates. "Oh" his eyes traveling to the ground. Natalie laughs. "Do you see why im a better leader Stephen? You can't even finish one off!" Kai clears his throat. They all look at him. "Well obviously Towner got her spears, she also grabbed two packs I think. The girl from seven got herself an axe, and her district partner got some throwing ones..." "I tried to stop him, cut his leg open a bit, wasn't very deep though" Kaleb says backing up some of Kai's facts. The rest of them nod. "Let's go hunting!" Natalie exclaims throwing her quiver of arrows over her shoulder. They others agree and round up their stuff. "Wait!" Sia exclaims. "We need a guard." she explains. They all turn to Natalie. She thinks for a moment. "I want Sia with me. Kaleb also... Kai do you have a kill?" she asks. "Yeah one..." he says. She nods. "You and Stephen stay here." "But!" Stephen starts to complain but she cuts him off. "No, you failed to finish off one this is your punishment. If we find a tribute its Kaleb's kill because he didn't have one. He guarded our supplies." "Fine" Stephen grumbles and backs off. "Good let's go" she says motioning for the pair from 2 to follow her.

Chesh was relieved when she came across a small pond. She fished out the two water bottles that she had quickly glanced at when she took her short break from running. She filled the bottle to the brim and rummaged through the pack looking for the iodine tablets. She finally found them. She plopped them into the bottles and waited. As soon as one was ready she sucked down the water. She refilled it and put iodine in that one too. She looked around for some type of shelter. Then she spotted it. A small cave like structure. It was pretty well hidden too. Silently she creeps over there. Throwing her bag into the cave she crawls in. She grabs her pack and brings it to her. She opens it up. There's one sleeping bag, the two water bottles, a thin blanket, a ton of beef strips, four packs of crackers, a flashlight, night vision glasses, a loaf of bread, and an extra pair of socks. Not a bad haul she thought to herself. She lays out the sleeping bag a throws the blanket on it. She packs everything else up but one package of beef strips. She grabs two and throws the rest back in the bag. Munching on her strips, she begins to wonder who were the other 5 to die? She guesses she'll find out tonight.

Drake was super happy to open the pack and find some medicine and bandages. Thank god for Lily. Covering himself, he cuts away at the material of his pants with the knife he found in his pack. Once it was cleared he put a few drops of water on it. He gently wiped away the blood. The cut wasn't that deep, so he could get away with cream and bandages, so that's what he did. After he was finished, he quietly packed up his things and started to walk around aimlessly. He decided it would be best if he climbed a tree. So he continued to wander until he found the tree he wanted. It was a sturdy oak and he climbed it with ease. Then he heard some of the leaves rustle on the tree. Another person was in the same tree! Only when she poked her head out did he relax. It was just Cecily. "Drake?" she whisper screamed. "Cecily! Hey!" he whisper screamed back. "You scared the crap out of me! How's your leg doing by the way?" she asked him. "The cut wasn't that deep! I should be fine!" she nods slowly. "Hey Cecily..." he begins. "Hmm?" "Do you want an ally now?" he asks. She ponders for a moment. "Sure. I guess." she says. "Great!" he says making his way over to her. She had some canopy thing going on. "Do you have a sleeping bag?" she asks. He opens his pack up and produces the sleeping bag. "Good. You can drape it there." she says pointing to a fork just above hers. He nods climbing the few branches up to it.

As Natalie, Sia, and Kaleb were beginning to give up, they caught a break. They all spotted a figure hunching over a small fire trying to gather warmth. They sun was quickly setting, meaning it was now or never for this kill. So with a head nod from Natalie, the three of they began to circle their prey. When they had her surrounded the rushed out surprising and trapping the young girl. "12" Natalie sneers. Natalya gulps. How could she not have heard them? But she decides to play their game. "1" she sneers back. She turns to the other two. "2." she sneers at them. They both smirk at the same time. Well, that was creepy. "Kaleb, why don't you show little 12 here who's in charge." Natalie says innocently. "I have a name you know" she tells them. "Oh," the girl from 2 begins "and what's that?" "Natalya" she spits at her. "Oh well, won't matter now. Kaleb?" smirking he walks up to her and un sheathes his sword. "I have a little brother who's crippled you know." she tells him stalling her death. His smirk drops. "And I have a fiancé" he says to her. Her mood lightens. He was actually fighting for some one, not the fact to kill. "Make it quick." she tells him and closes her eyes. He nods, positions his sword, and brings it down into her heart. She jerks a couple of times then falls still. The cannon sounds. The careers congratulate each other. They leave so the hover craft can pick up the body.

Lily can't get Scorpio out of her head. Its not even the fact she killed him more the fact she really didn't feel bad about it. I mean she put an axe in somebody and it was as easy as that. The sun is almost gone, and she's freezing. Zipping up her jacket, she needs to find shelter. She settles on a tree. Climbing the nearest one, she finds a sturdy fork and drapes her sleeping bag over it. She almost falls out of the tree when she hears the cannon go off. Steadying herself again she counts who are dead in total. 7. Well, that's ironic now isn't it? 17 left to play the game. Then the anthem blares out about 5 minutes later. First the seal appears, followed by Libra's picture. Then Scorpio's. Lily doesn't even twitch up in guilt. What was wrong with her? Then it was Scarlet's photo. Followed by George. Then Thomas. Then of course Fredrick. Lastly it was Natalya. The seal appeared once more and disappeared just like that. This means 12 is officially out of the running. She was happy to not see Drakes photo in the sky. That means he must of cleaned up his leg. Sighing out of relief she rolls over and attempts to get some sleep.

Maria woke up the next day with a sudden jerk. She still can't believe Scorpio had died. The moron must have gone for an axe. If there was one thing Maria knew about 7 it was that it was that noone ever got between them and their axes. They were like their children. She can't say she was much smarter though. She had ran and got a few of Cecily's daggers. That was actually a stupid move. She is still here though. So that counts for something. Standing up and stretching out her muscles she begins to pack up her things. That's about when the bird perches on the branch above her. Silently she pulls out her dagger and lines it up in an attempt to throw it and kill the bird. With a flick of her wrist the dagger leaves her grip and hits the bird in the stomach. With a silent cheer, Maria stalks over to it. Pulling her dagger out, she looks at the now dead bird. She tried to remember what you had to do. Skin it. She picked the bird up by it feet and brought it down beside her. She slipped her knife under the birds skin trying not to gag. She began to cut off the skin. The knife went through it like butter. If she ever got out of this arena she would be a vegetarian for life. As soon as it had been skinned, she knew she had to cook it. But did she gut it first? No that was for fish. Right? Now she was just confusing her self. Sighing she starts a small fire and sticks the bird on a stick. Roasting the bird like a marsh mellow, she's done in almost no time at all. Stomping out her fire, she bites into the bird. She manages to choke it down. Its really gross. Washing down her bite with a bit of water, she decides to leave the bird. She's not going to eat it. So grabbing her pack and daggers, she starts to walk in search of a new shelter.

Ariana was currently fussing with her hair. It just would not go straight! Its bad enough she got dirt in it but now this? No. She sighs giving up, and pulls out her packet of crackers. She takes two of them out and puts the rest back in her pack. Munching on them she tries to think of a plan. What to do what to do... then she had it. Standing up, she grabs her knife belt and fastens it around her hips. Pulling two out she moved quietly and gracefully along some path. She knows the careers must have killed that girl from 12. Because she had heard them stomping around. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she continued to search. Just one of you be an idiot please! Then she hears a shuffle followed by footsteps. Finally! Gliding over to where she heard the sounds, she sees the person immediately. Freaking Reiyn. "Reiyn!" she calls to him. He turns to face her. "Ariana? What in the world are you doing?" he asks her. "Hunting! You?" his immediate thought was that she was hunting animals. Then he knew the truth. Tributes. If he had been anyone else he would be dead by now. "Setting a trap. Well, that was until you jumped out ans scared me half to death." he replies. She furrows her eyebrows. A trap? Good luck with that buddy. "Well good luck with that, im leaving." she tells him turning on her heel. After she was a good distance away, she began searching again. Then she saw a couple of wolves. Only they weren't. They were mutts. She quickly and quietly turned and walked away. That was too close.

Libra, Libra, Libra. That's all Sebastian could think about. The first kill at that! Why do the good one's always die? I suppose they are the lucky one's though. They don't have to live through this bullcrap. They simply go without a name or a face. Peaceful. At least the death was quick too. One arrow to the neck and bam! Dead. Pushing her from his mind he continues what he is doing. Which happens to be making a net. Finally its finished! He goes to work setting up the trap. With the final knot, he steps back to admire his work. The net is okay, at best, the tribute would probably fall right out though. Sighing, he leaves it. His skills aren't really helping. God, this sucks. He picks up his pack and knife and walks away. He's set three of these traps already, and is running low on rope. He really wished he could have some more. Though that would involve having sponsors, which he's sure he is fresh out of those. Walking past one, he sighs again. Noone has even come close to it. He takes a deep breath and trudges on. That's when he hears it. The pounding of several feet. Careers. Without thinking twice he dives behind a bush just as they come into the clearing. "Come out come out where ever you are!" a girl taunts. No way they saw him! "Yes, come on out we won't bite!" a boy says this time. Then one growls in frustration. "None! There is none down here! This is getting annoying! Seriously isn't there one retard in these games?" a girl spits. He knows who immediately. Natalie. Meaning the other girl must have been Sia. "I guess not," the same boy begins. "Let's go back to Kaleb and Stephen." he says as they turn around. So the boy was Kai. Huh. After he was sure they were gone, he poked his head out of the bush, checking if the coast was clear. It was. He quickly scrambled out of the bush and in the opposite direction of the careers. He exhaled reliezing he had been holding his breath.

Chesh had watched Sebastian this entire time. When he set up the traps, wandered around, and with the encounter with the careers. She needed to move on to following someone else. That's when she see's him. Kole. Gliding evenly on her feet she ducked behind the bush right behind him. She watched as he threw his javelins obviously trying to warm up to them again. He was doing well. His aim was dead center. She shook her head and slipped away unseen. Gliding back to her cave, she noticed the girl from 3 working on something in the meadow part of the arena. She was using wire and putting it in odd patterns. Shaking the thoughts from her head she crept back to her cave. When she heard beeping she nearly jumped out of her skin. A parachute. Calming herself, she causiously walks over to it. She opened it carefully willing to not make a sound. Inside were two more knives. She was confused. What would she need these for? Then she thought. If she had sponsors, would they want to see her kill?

Leigha cursed under her breath. The stupid wire won't stay together. She really needed some tape. Though she was sure she didn't have many sponsors if any at all. I mean a 5 isn't exactly impressive. Frustrated she throws the wire down, and slips to the ground. Why was everything so difficult? She takes a deep breath and tries to fix the trap again. No luck. Swearing out loud she slaps her hands over her mouth and drops to the ground. Luckily the tall grass seems to conceal her. After about 5 minutes she pokes her head up. Seeing as though noone's around she stands fully up. Picking the wire back up, she has to relieze the sun is starting to set. Again. Feeling slightly rushed, she frantically tries to get the wires to stay. They fall apart. "TAPE!" she screams at the sky hoping her mentors heard her. They must have, because not 15 seconds later a parachute begins to fall from the sky. Overjoyed, she scrambles to open it up. Greedily taking the tape out, she begins to wrap all the areas that needed it. Now all she needed is a battery. As if reading her thoughts the next parachute begins to fall from the sky. The battery is inside taunting her. She pulls it out and curses. Frick she needs rubber gloves. Like the idiot that see is, she failed to notice the gloves in the bottom of the box. Slipping them on, she touches the two wires ends to one of the ends of the battery. The trap hums with electricity. "SUCCESS!" she yells again. She detaches the wires and battery slipping it into her pocket. Maybe she has a fighting chance.

Towner had been spying on the careers since the games began. She had been plotting a way to draw them all away from the cornucopia. If only. She's giving up now, and figures she might as well walk away. So she does. She knows she has sponsors, but she won't have them for long if she doesn't kill. That's just how the games work. Then she almost jumps out of her skin. The anthem is just know blaring out. Of course Towner knows there will be no faces in the sky tonight. Unless of course she went momentarily deaf and didn't hear a cannon sound. When there's no faces she has to laugh. Apparently the careers didn't look hard enough, because about a half an hour ago some girl was screaming about tape. Who's the idiots now?

RIP Natalya.

Natalya- she was a great character with a big heart and a lot of patience. *coughFredrickcough* any who, I hope her dad loses custody of Wyan...

So, this was deleted! Grr. So I need some reviews. Please? P.S. New chapter in my Johanna fic. Check it out?

~Kendyl~


	15. Trapped

Hi there! So any way, the games are really in full swing, so yes, people will die, sorry! I have to do it though! Any way, enjoy the new chapter!

~Kendyl~

Sia's eyes snap open. She smiles wickedly. Another hunting day. She sits up right scaring the crap out of Kai. He must have been on guard. Startled, he shifts causing him to tumble off the rock he was sitting on moments ago. Sia laughs standing up and offering her hand to him. He takes it, and she pulls him up. "Thanks" he says dusting off his pants. "Your welcome, we better wake up the others though." she says motioning towards them. He nods and prepares to shake Stephen awake. "Wait." her hand shoots out and grabs his arms. "Wake up Natalie. I got Kaleb. I have something fun prepared for Stephen." she says mischievously. Kai half wondered what she was going to do, but did as she said. He shook Natalie 8 time before she groaned and slapped him across the face. "God Natalie! Wake up!" he says in a some what hushed tone not wanting to wake Stephen up. Yet. He saw as Sia woke up Kaleb and grabbed a knife. What was she going to do? "Were going to pull a prank on Stephen." he said hoping it would get through to her. It did. Her eyes snapped open and an evil smirk played at her lips. "Ready?" Sia asked from behind them. Natalie sprang up. "YES!" she almost screamed. She was met by a bunch of shushes. Sia creeped over to Stephen and looked over him. She held her knife right in front of his face. She motioned for one of them to shake him. Natalie happily did the job. Stephen's eyes flickered open and widened at the sight of the knife. "AHHH!" he screamed crawling back like an insect. The rest of them die laughing. He scowls. What did he do to get them to want to mess with only him? "You guys suck. Ya know that?" He says obviously annoyed with them. They laugh even harder. "Whatever. Natalie, who's hunting today?" he asks seriously hoping today he gets to. "Let's see. Sia and I of course, and you know what, how about Kai again." she says. "WHAT!?" "You heard me." "Its my turn though!" "No, your still in time out. You'll get your day. Besides, Sia and I need to learn how to fish." she finishes shrugging her shoulders. Steaming, he stomps off and sits in the mouth of the cornucopia. Natalie turns to Kaleb. "You cool? Because you and Kai could switch..." she trails off. He shrugs. "Nah, its cool. Learn to fish. Besides, I get to torture Talcott with pranks. I'll be fine." he says shrugging it off. She nods and turns to her fellow allies. "Let us go!" she exclaims picking up her bow and throwing her quiver over her shoulder. Sia smirks and fastens her knife belt around her hips. Kai offers up a small smile and grabs his spear.

Lily still can't understand why killing Scorpio was so easy. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Then she knew. She was so set on making it back to her siblings, that she would kill as many of these kids she had to. She's a monster. She was going to have to live with it though. She imagined if she did get home. Would the impact of what she had done hit her there? Or would she not care at all? Or would she not feel it until she closed her eyes to go to sleep? She shakes her head clearing the thoughts from her mind. She continues on her walking way. Then she see's it. A meadow. Cautiously she walks into this part of the arena. She stops abruptly when she see she has walked into the middle of a wire trap. "Crap" she mumbles under her breath. Then she see's a head pop up. District 3. Great. She has pair of rubber gloves on. Then Lily see's the battery and the wire. Well, she's screwed. The girl, Leigha she thinks her name is, attaches one end of the wire to one end of the battery. Lily closes her eyes ready for her death to come. Only, it doesn't. Opening her eyes she sees the problem. There's a lot of smoke and the girl from 3 is coughing. Then she hears the girl curse. "Stupid battery. One time use! What the heck! No! Stupid sponsors!" Lily is quite shocked at this what, 14 year old? Then Lily has a horrible thought. No Lily, just turn around and run away. Lily! You want to see your siblings right? Kill her! She slaps her head trying to get rid of the voices. She wants to see her siblings so bad. Without thinking twice, she maneuvers her way out of the trap and holds her axe tight. Leigha must see what's happening, because she bolts. Like the idiot Lily is, she runs after her. Side note: Lily your fast. She puts this note aside and focuses on Leigha. She is a foot behind her. Before she even knows what's happening, her axe has flew out of her hand towards Leigha. It embeds its self in her back. She falls over dead. The cannon sounds. Catching her breath, Lily yanks the axe out of the young girl's back. She turns and lets the hovercraft collect the body.

At the sound of a cannon, Cecily's eyes snap open. By the shift in the sleeping bag above her, she would say Drake's up too. "Cecily?" he calls down to her. "Drake" she calls back up to him. He breathes a sigh of relief. "Who do you think it was?" he asks her. She sighs. "I don't know but, were sure to find out tonight." she says. She knows who he's thinking about. Lily. Cecily was only worried about Drake, considering her partner died in the bloodbath. Although, seeing as how Lily ripped an axe out of Scorpio's grasp, she figured the girl could handle herself. She didn't say anything to Drake though, considering he has every right to be afraid for his district partner. She was for George and... well you know what happened. Sighing, she sits up right. "Uh, Drake..." she begins. He rolls to the side and drops his head down to look at her. "Yeah..." he starts. "Are you hungry?" "Always am!" he says scrambling down the branches and taking a seat on the branch next to her. She smiles and his anxious looks, and pulls out a few pieces of dried fruit. Handing him his fruit, she sits back and studies him. Well obviously he's twelve, like Tanith, he's easily excited, like Tanith, and he's always trying to be friendly (except when he first met Lily but you know) and again like Tanith. Is that the reason she trusted him? Considered him as an ally say over, Lily? Well, yes but there was something more. He reminded her of home. A twelve year old from 7 reminded her of home. Well, how did that happen. She reliezes she must have been staring because Drake asks her, "Are you okay?" she shakes her head clearing her thoughts. "Yeah, totally fine." he smiles and finishes his fruit. "Hey Cecily..." he starts. "Hey Drake..." she says mimicking him. "We should probably gather some edible greens. Ya know, to make the crackers and stuff taste better." she nods. "Sounds like a great idea." he smiles and climbs up the few branches to his fork. He starts packing his things. She decides she better do the same. She neatly folds her sleeping bag and places it in her pack. She hears the shift in the branches indicating Drake is coming back down. "Ready?" he asks. She nods her head and they start down the tree.

After his run in with Ariana yesterday, Reiyn decided he needs to be more quiet. So he crept along his little path all the way to his trap. He has seem some crudely made ones while he was walking around. God knows who made those. So here he is with some wire and rope, making some time of trap, that people will probably see from a mile away. Does he care? Not really. So he continues with the trap, tying knots here and there, shocking his finger, etc. etc. After 10 minutes, the trap is finally done. Looking at it, it looks relatively harmless, but he knows better. Picking up a stick, he throws it into the middle. There's a big zap, and the stick is nothing but ash. Picking up another, he throws it at the edge. Again another zap, and the stick is fried. He smiles. Come on now, all I need is a tribute. He scans the area. Not a soul in sight. Cursing he picks up his things and heads off looking for one. Chesh watches him closely. Making sure he's out of sight, she silently creeps over to the trap. She then studies it. Its expertly made, as if he's been doing this his whole life and it looks extremely deadly. With that last statement in mind, she turns around ready to leave. Then she hears a pair of footsteps. He's back. Not knowing what to do, she dives in the nearest bush hoping he had not seen her. Reiyn heard some twigs snapping and a few leaves crunching and thought of an animal. Only, he had just left. Animals take a little longer to decide the coast is clear. A tribute. One of them must have been watching him. He turns and runs back to his campsite. Noone. He must be hearing things. Shaking hi head, he turns to go back to what he's doing. As soon as he's gone again, Chesh leaps out of her hiding spot and bolts. That was way to close. She dives back into his cave and sits there without making a noise. Close call Chesh. Close call.

Towner watches as someone bolts by her hiding place. Judging by the fact that the person's hood was up, she'd say it was Shadow Shira. She had given this girl this nickname after she saw the girl in the training center melting in with the shadows. Any way, Towner been looking for anyone, anyone at all whom she could fight. She needs to keep her sponsors after all. So standing up, she grabs her spear and sets off in search of one. She doesn't make it half a mile before she's pulled of her feet. Into a net. She thrashes around at first, then spots the knots. They're horribly done. Crawling in the net, she poke her hands out and begins to untie. She's done in 5 seconds. In the next three, she manages to fall on her face. Groaning she sits up and crawls over to her spear. She picks it up and picks herself up. She needs to make noise. So she screams and thrashes the net around. Someone comes running. Its Sebastian. Without really thinking about it, she lets her spear fly. It pierces straight through his stomach, and he falls over. Dead. The cannon booms. She walks over to the body and pulls her spear out. She walks away. After about three minutes she comes across a stream. She washes the blood away from the point of her spear, and fills her water bottle up. Then she hears loud laughter. Careers. Gathering her things, she begins to run through the trees behind her.

These girls, Kai decided, were horrible at keeping still. He had tried to help them spear fish, no luck there, then he tried net fishing, their knots fell out, and now he was going to try the old fashioned homemade fishing pole way. "Ok you two, go find a good sized stick." they did as they were told, and even brought him one. He searched for some long grass. There. "Ok, now each of you need three pieces of long grass." again they did as they were told. "Ok now, make a simple knot, and tie them together." they failed. Sighing he took their grass and tied it for them. "Lastly, your going to need a hook. Natalie, let me see your earrings." she didn't look pleased, but handed them over. Kai made quick work and handed the girls back their poles with the hooks attached. "Now simply put the hook in the water and wait. Im going to make a basket." he tells them while going off in search of his materials. He comes back 5 minutes later to see they have caught nothing. Figures. Without a word he sits and starts making the basket. Just as he starts Natalie screams, "I GOT ONE! I GOT ONE!" she says pointing frantically at her pole. "Ok Natalie, pull up on the pole and let me detach it." so she yanks it up, and Kai detaches the hook from its mouth. It thrashes around for a while until it goes still. Setting it on his back, he instructs her to continue. He finally finishes the basket and puts the fish in. He starts a fire. "What are you doing?" the girls ask in unison. "Cooking the fish. I need some of its bones to make for poles." he states simply. "Sia, do you have like a, hated knife?" he asks. She nods and throws a small blade his way. He takes it and the fish and begins to gut it. Being from district 1, Natalie turns her nose up at it. He cleans the rest of the fish, and sticks in on his spear. Slow roasting it over the fire, the three of them have a quick snack. Taking the bones, he adds a hook to his pole and makes two more. The girls catch 5 fish. Stomping out the fire, the careers make their way back to their camp. They don't even notice that its almost time for the projection in the sky.

Sawyer positioned himself so he could see the faces. The anthem started to blare out and the seal appeared. He first face made his heart skip a beat. Leigha. He says a silent goodbye to his district partner and continues to watch. Sebastian. The seal appears once more and the sky goes black. Sawyer sits there for a while and looks for the constellations. He spots the scales right away. Libra. That's ironic. Then the scorpion for Scorpio. He stops looking at the stars. But he looks back. Those things don't appear at the same time. Is the Capitol that cruel? Well obviously the answer is yes. Don't the understand? The fact that they mocked us is the whole reason we rebelled. Now they have children. We're untouchable! We have your children! Screw them. Sawyer was going to fight. If he got out of here, he would fight. Show the Capitol that they are monsters and not the other way around. However, how was he going to get people to follow? Was this the same thoughts running through the minds of the rebels when they started? Would the next one not happen until at least 40 years later? Or more? The thoughts of planning this thing were enough to make his head explode. Though he would do whatever it took to make sure these kids would stop dying every year. He needed a more stable foundation however. He's getting ahead of himself. He needs to win first. That right there is next to impossible. So the rebellion he's thinking up is one notch up from impossible. This would take sometime. With these thoughts in his head, Sawyer closed his eyes and dreamed up a better tomorrow. Only, it wouldn't be. Ever. Not in these games.

Gamemakers POV

The tributes have all just made their sleeping arrangements. The alliance of course would have their guards, while the loners hid themselves. His job was to make sure these tributes fought through the worst conditions. Now how was he going to do that? He had sent in minimal mutts, had some poisonous plants that looked like the edible ones, and well the tributes had been killing almost everyday. With a time span like this, the games would be over quickly. Though, this way the Capitol might see their victor more sooner. Should he give them an off day? Or should he run a few together? Choices choices. He breathes and decides to let them have their normal day. Couldn't hurt right? I mean the audience had their blood, so they should be set. What he was worried about was the president. Would he want him to amp up the games? Not this early. The few mutts had to be enough. Right?

RIP Leigha and Sebastian.

Leigha- what to say about this kind hearted girl... she was an amazing tribute to write and I loved her minor obsession with tape. I have to shed a tear to Ashleigh though. :'( that dogs gonna miss her master.

Sebastian- ah Sebastian, another great character. I loved his spacey moments and his sweet kindness. He will be missed as well.

Ok if you haven't already, drop a vote at the poll. The results will be posted in the next chapter :D

~Kendyl~


	16. TagTeamed

**Hello, and thank you for the reviews. They always make me smile. Any way, enjoy the new chapter! P.S. I will almost always make the first paragraph about one of the careers. Just the way I roll.**

**~Kendyl~**

* * *

Stephen opened his eyes and was pleased to see he was the only one up. Kaleb must have fallen asleep while on guard. Sighing, he sits up right, and wiggles out of his sleeping bag. He ponders if he should pull a joke on his allies like they did to him, or leave them alone. He decides on the latter. They would give him hell for it. He didn't want that instead, he gently shakes Kaleb awake and then Natalie. She doesn't looked pleased that she was woken up but whatever. Kaleb gets Sia and Kai. With us all rounded up Natalie turns to me. "Tomorrow" she says then turns to Kaleb. "Me, you, and Kai" she says. Sia shrugs. She probably saw it coming. At least he finally gets to go tomorrow. They wave them off as they disappear into the trees. Sia and him take their spots in front of the Cornucopia. Natalie watches them sit in their spots and turns back to the boys. "Let's continue going" she says motioning for them to go forward. As they start their trek, Natalie starts to think. If any of them were in trees were screwed there, they can forget about Chesh, she's impossible to catch, and if they were all caught in traps they were hopeless. Their only chance was to catch the people off their guard and out run them. Or fight. That was always in the cards. Shrugging it off, she asks Kai if he would show Kaleb how to fish. He says sure and takes him to the stream they were at yesterday. She walked behind them surveying the area. No movement anywhere. Are you serious? This is bull crap. Noone! Come on! She takes deep breaths and prays that they get someone today. She's tired of all the other morons getting all the kills. Today, they would get one. She was stern and set on this plan. Yes, this would happen. She would make sure of it. That she would. "Natalie! You coming or what?" Kai shouted back to her. Only now did she realize she had stopped. "Yeah, sorry bout that." she says shaking her head and jogging to catch up with them.

Chesh continued to stare at the knives. How was she supposed to kill someone with them? She couldn't even stab one into a tree let alone a person. This would be so difficult. She closes her eyes and breathes. She stabs the tree. She sighs. She needs to follow someone, but who? Not Lily. She'll take Chesh's head off. Not Drake. He's in an alliance. Maria is almost as hard to follow as herself. The careers are completely out of the question. Towner is just as bad as them. Reiyn has tons of traps everywhere. Ariana will cut her up. She has no clue where Sawyer is and let's see that leaves... Kole. He'll do. She grabs her knives and crawls out of the cave. She thinks back to where she saw him last. In that small clearing. Practicing with his javelins. She stops abruptly. She forgot he had those. She breathes and continues forward. It's a ambush. He'll have no idea she's even there. He'll be completely off his guard. She comes across the clearing in no time. Guess what! He's not there! Cursing she kicks the ground and sneaks her way across it and to the other side. She creeps along the side moving slowly up the path. Then she hears footsteps. One pair. He's back. She dives behind a tree just in time to see him step out. She decides to just watch him for now, not make a move. Yet. She watches him closely. He must have got nervous and headed back to his camp for some unknown reason. She holds her breath when he looks straight at her hiding space. Then exhales as he looks away. She just watches. Like a tiger preparing to pounce on its prey.

Maria has followed Chesh the whole way here. Chesh got stealth? Well so does she. The girl didn't even notice her. It was obvious Chesh was waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack Kole. The girl had sponsors, but she would need to keep them. Just like Maria. So she sat and waited for Chesh to make the first move. She always waited. Then Chesh sees the opening and cuts Kole in the back. He whips around at holds his javelin in front of him, blocking her next attack. He then starts to jab at her, and she takes a few steps back. Maria inches closer to further her watching. Chesh cuts a gash on his cheek. He leaves a gash on her leg. She cuts his arm. He catches her in the stomach. She cries out in pain and runs off. Now's Maria's chance. With his back turned, she jumps on him and slits a thin line across his throat. He cries out one final time and bleeds out. Maria wipes the blood from her forehead. The cannon sounds. Satisfied with her work, she ventures to find a stream. She comes across one fairly close to the scene. She wipes her hands and splashes the water onto her face. She then cleans her knife. She half wonders if Chesh had seen. That brought a smile to her face. Then it dropped as soon as it had came. She just killed someone. Wow. How could she not break down in tears? Is it because she felt nothing for the boy? Or something else entirely? She decides to put it off for now. She finishes by wiping the wet knife off on her shirt. Which is dirty and has a few blood spots. Sighing she checks to make sure noone is near her and peels off the shirt. So she scrubs it in the stream smiling when all the dirt comes off. Its almost like she's back at home. Home. She savors the word. Then pushes it from her mind. Scrub now home later. She would be home later. She had to be. Home.

"Are you kidding me!?" Natalie yelled at the sky. "Another one!?" she was ticked. Seriously? Would careers ever get another kill? In the pack as one that is. Kaleb snickers. "What's so funny?" she yells at him. "Oh, nothing. Just the fact that your yelling and scaring off any tributes in a 5 mile radius." he says with a shrug. "Oh, well then I'm so sorry that I don't want us to look like wimpy careers. Excuse me." she says in a heavy sarcastic tone. He frowns. "You want to know what a sword through the stomach feels like Warner?" he asks danger evident in his voice. She snarls. "Do _you_ want to find out what an arrow to the neck feels like Tides?" the same danger coming through in her voice. "STOP IT!" Kai yells at both of them. He has had enough of both of them. "Will you just stop for a second and think! If you kill each other now, the pack splits up, and we get picked off one-by-one by these other idiots in this arena! It will happen! So stop going at each others throats for one second and think of the outcome!" he huffs. These guys have pushed him to the edge. They blink and back off each other. "I would still kill you in a heartbeat." Kaleb mumbles at her. "Right back at you." she snaps still glaring. Kai narrows his eyes. Its good enough for now. "Moving on. Are we going to the same stream as yesterday, or a different one?" Kai asks. "The same." Natalie replies. He nods and leads the group there. "Woah!" Kai whispers. They all stop. He points to the stream. There's a tribute. The girl from 8 he thinks. She scrubbing her shirt off. Her undershirt is dirty too, but she probably isn't comfortable to let Panem see too much. A branch snaps under one of their feet. Her head perks up and she takes off running. "God dammit!" Natalie screeches. Kaleb and Kai glare at her. She needs to shut up. She stomps over to the stream then turns back to them. "You coming or what?" she calls to them they shrug and meet her by the edge. Kai instructs Kaleb on fishing and he picks up quickly. So they all fish. By the end they have 12 of them. "Fish again?" Stephen whine when they get back to the Cornucopia. "Yes fish again, moron." Natalie says picking up a fish and smacking him across the face with it. "Real mature." he grumbles and they all laugh at him. He was a victors brother! Two victors at that! Why was he taking crap from these people? Well, because they hate him for it. They hate how he has all the fame. They want him on their level. Well, it worked. He feels like he understands these people a bit more. Just a bit though.

Drake jumps again. The first jump was for the cannon a half an hour ago. This time it was because Cecily tapped his back. "Didn't mean to scare you." she says a smirk threatening to appear. Drake smiles. The training center. It feels like forever ago. "Its ok. Just pickin some plants." he says showing her the greens he collected in his hands. She smiles. Having an ally like Drake had its perks. He knew his way around a plant. Well, she didn't. So she had him point out a few edible plants she may be able to remember. Final count:5. We climb our tree once more and settle to eat by my fork in the tree. She took out the remainder of the rabbit they had managed to snare and wrapped up a small chunk in some assorted leaves. She bites down and a warm smile spreads across her face. Its simply delicious. To the T. Drake lets out a low laugh in response. He then bites into his wrap. Not enough. He adds a few berries. Perfect. They eat their lunch in silence. Or is it dinner? The way time moves in this arena confuses Drake. They sun is telling him its around 1. So a late lunch. He can't help it. He starts to think who the cannon was for. Immediately his thoughts drift to Lily. He shakes them off though. She's fine he keeps repeating that to himself. She's fine. I guess the better question here is if he is fine. He doesn't feel fine. Though he's sure noone but the careers are fine. So he munches on his wrap trying to forget about the cannon. Cecily watches her ally's face. Its twisted up in thought. She knows what he's thinking. It's the same thought every time one goes off**. **Who was the cannon for. "It wasn't her." Cecily says as if reading his mind. He nods once and looks down at the branch. If only he believed it.

Thunk! The knife imbeds its self in the tree. Just like the other 27 times. Ariana is bored out of her mind. Couldn't so unlucky person just stumble into the clearing? Apparently not. She stomps over to the tree and pulls the knife back out. She throws it again. Same spot. She hears clapping behind her. She whips around pulling out a knife and aiming it at the moron who is behind her. Again its Reiyn. She's pissed. "What is the matter with you?" she asks. "What's the matter with you? If I do recall correctly, the first time it was you who snuck up on me. Not the other way around." she scoffs. "Yeah, well if you were smart you would leave." she says folding her arms in front of her chest. He smirks. "Nah, im feel like having a dumb day." he says plopping down on a rock. "Ughhh" she cries out in frustration. "Go away! I will kill you!" he stands up and walks evenly away. She sighs and spins back around. The knife meets its target once again. She snarls. Can't she have a little fun in the arena? 30. The next knife find the target on the tree again. She breathes. Just wait Ari. Just wait. She hears footsteps. Reiyn. "Go away!" she yells at him again. He ignores her and takes his seat on the rock. Frustrated, she marches over to him. She gets in his face. "I will kill you. So I suggest you leave right now." she spits at him. He shrugs. "Do you think im kidding? I will do it Reiyn." "No you won't." he replies. "What! Yes I will." "No, you won't because if you win, you can't face your district knowing you killed your partner." "I don't care what they think." "Yes you do. You tried to straighten your hair this morning." she freezes. She has done this every morning. "Have you been following me?" "Yep" "Creep!" she says shoving him off the rock. He sighs and sits back down. "Listen here Reiyn, I will cut your face up leav-"she's cut off by Reiyn. He pressed his lips against hers. She freezes. What in the hell is going on? He pulls away. She's still stunned. "Would it kill you to shut up? Like ever?" he asks getting up and leaving. She unfreezes and wipes her lips. Gross. Reiyn. Gross.

Sawyer had seen Towner, but avoided her. She still scared the crap out of him. It was her utter confidence that he was scared of. Her and that 7 girl. Best to avoid them both. Right now, he was carelessly swinging his sword at the tree. He was bored. He had not seen any of the smaller and defenseless tributes. He hadn't seen much of anyone. So he continues swinging. God give him something to do. That's about the time he noticed it was getting dark. Fast. He sheathes his sword. He slips back into his little "fort" and peeks his head out waiting for the anthem. There it is! The seal appears just like it always does. Its followed by Kole's cheery face. The seal is there again and everything goes black. He sighs slipping his head back inside. That means 6,9, and 12 are officially out of the running. He counts in his head. 10 dead, 14 left to play these games. Wonderful. He sighs. He has district 3's victory riding on his shoulders. Stupid Leigha. His thoughts wander to the 13 year old that just appeared in the sky. Didn't he have a little sister? Yeah, he talked about her through his whole interview. Sawyer shakes his head. Again the Capitol's fault. He mentioned his dad was a drunk. Meaning, the kid must have had to take Tesserae. Again the Capitol. Couldn't they see what they were doing? Was he the only one awake out there, or was there more?

* * *

**RIP Kole.**

**Kole- Man, I loved how much he loved his sister. At least he gets to see his mom...**

**Poll results!**

**In first place with 4 votes we have... Stephen!**

**In second place with 3 votes we have... Leigha!**

**In third place with 2 votes we have... Ariana and Drake!**

**In fourth place with 1 vote we have... Kai, Towner, Lily, Chesh, and Natalya!**

**In fifth place with no votes is everyone else.**

**Erm I guess it's a little late for Leigha and Natalya... Sorry!**

**As always please review and sorry for this not being updated yesterday, I went to a baseball game.. (Go Tigers!) They won, so it was definitely worth it! Also, new poll will be up! Look out for that!**

**~Kendyl~**


	17. After All

**Sup! Thanks so much for the reviews from the last chapter! Also thanks for the favs and alerts. New poll is up! So... please vote and please review! Also I have a new one shot out! Will you read it? Please?**

**~Kendyl~**

Natalie's eyes flickered open. Frick. Stephen gets to go hunting with her. This will be great! Not. She groans sitting up. Kai turns his head to see her getting up. He gets up and stretches. She does the same then kicks Stephen's legs. He groans and rolls over. She rolls her eyes and kicks him again. He slaps her foot. She bends down and screams in his ear. His eyes shoot open and his hands cover his ears. She smirks standing back up. Sia rubs her eyes sitting up and shoves Kaleb a few times. He gets up and they all turn to Natalie. "Stephen and Sia. With me. Were getting a kill today. No excuses." she says very sternly. Sia smirks and fastens on her knife belt. She also throws a pack over her shoulder. "Ready" she says an evil glint in her eyes. Natalie smirks. Sia and her are... friends? No that's not right... frienimies. That's what they are. Stephen lazily grabs his sword and a pack and mutters "Ready" stupid idiot. She hopes he eats a poison berry or something. "Come on. Let's go." she says turning to Stephen. "If you screw this up I'm going to kill you." she growls at him. "Ok, I'll try not to." he says sarcastically. She narrows her eyes. "Shut up" she says turning back to face Sia. Natalie throws her quiver over her shoulder and grabs her bow. "Let's go!" they run off into the woods. "Man, I was surprised that kid from 9 survived that long. Thought he was a bloodbath for sure!" Sia comments. "Yeah, must have been pretty good with those javelins." Natalie replies. Stephen awkwardly walks behind them. Their chatting about who they would love to kill right now. Towner keeps popping up. Wow, do they really not care about anyone's past? Apparently not. "Whoa!" Natalie whispers and throws her hand up indicating for us to stop. She points in front of her. It's the girl from 5. The one who kept flirting with Kai. She was as good as dead.

Ariana was completely unaware of the trio's presence. So she threw her knives. She was sure Reiyn was creepin around here somewhere. God he's weird. Snap! She whips her head just in time to see three of the careers charging at her. She ducks and an arrow goes flying over her head. Then Stephen slams her into a tree. "Reiyn!" she calls. "Reiyn help me!" she's so desprate. "That's so sweet, calling for your district partner. To bad he wouldn't be here in time." Sia sneers at the girl. Ariana squirms in Stephen's grasp trying to break free. Its useless. "Reiyn! I'm sorry! Please help me!" she tries again. "Ariana?" his call is distant. Its over. Hot tears are spilling down her cheeks. "Yes Reiyn! Help me!" Stephen clamps his hand over her mouth. She bites it. He jerks it back. "Your gonna pay for that one 5." he growls at her. He picks a knife off her belt and cuts a gash on her cheek. She cries out in pain. "Reiyn, please.." she begs her voice nothing but a whimper. She's going to die. All the training for nothing! She's gonna die. Not without a fight. Using all her strength she manages to push Stephen back enough to let her escape. She bolts. The careers groan and run after her. Ariana slams right into Reiyn. "Ow.." they both mumble standing back up. Her eyes are wide with terror. "We have to go." and sprints in the direction Reiyn had just come from. He sighs and runs after her. The trio is not far behind. In seconds their upon them. Ariana freaking trips. Reiyn begins to come back for her. "No Reiyn go. Thank you. For everything." he nods and continues running. "Win for me!" she calls after him. "I will. Don't worry." he says to himself. "Well well well. That was a clever stunt you pulled back there 5. Too bad prince Charming can't save you now." Natalie taunts. "Just do it." she hisses at these idiots. Stephen smirk and grabs at his sword. "Your all gonna rot in hell." she spits. He brings his sword down on her heart. Somewhere a cannon booms. That was for you Ari. She tells herself. Somewhere in front of her she sees her sister. "Morgan?" she asks. "Hey Ari." maybe death isn't so bad after all.

Reiyn jumps when the cannon sounds. Poor Ariana. Stupid Reiyn, you weren't supposed to get attached to anyone but I guess that didn't stop you huh? Well guess what? She's gone now and you have a promise riding on your shoulders. A big one. He breathes in and out. Could be worse right? Wait what's worse than the Hunger Games? District 12? Come on Reiyn, now your going crazy. Who me? Crazy? Haha as if! I'm not crazy! Definitely not crazy! Silly goose! He laughs. It sounds pretty scary. Your not crazy Reiyn. No you are not! The Capitol is the crazy one! Yeah! Not you! He breathes. This place is not good for his mental health. Whoa! That bird was orange! Strange! Woo! 13 people left! He could win this. Or not. No he'd win. Right? No. Yes. No. Yes. Ugh! This is too crazy to think about. Wait, is he going crazy? Surely not. Maybe just maybe... no! Just upset that's all. That's all. Check the traps Reiyn. His mind goes on auto pilot as he checks each one. I loved her. Wait no you didn't. Yes you did. Yes. No. Yes. No. "Ahh!" he screams out in frustration. This was too much to handle! He kicks a stick. Why must these games play with ones heart? This is the most unfair thing he has experienced in his life. Falls for girl. Girl has no clue. Girl dies. Well life's a bitch isn't Reiyn? Definitely not fair. Oh this will be marvelous!

Drake jumps again at the sound of the cannon. Its not Lily. Its not Lily. He keeps repeating this in his head over and over and over. Him and Cecily are once again gathering plants and such. He's got a pretty good haul going on. He imagined whomever the cannon was for was a career kill. Just a guess though. He continues to pick at the plants. He hears footsteps. He turns to see the smiling face of Cecily. "Did I do good?" she asks pointing at the plants in her hand. He checks to make sure they're all edible. They are. He nods and she smiles even more. "Good." she says walking towards their tree. "Who do you think the cannon was for?" Drake asks out of curiosity. She shrugs. "Who knows? It could be anyone. It is a fight to the death." she points out to him. He nods sadly. "Just wish it didn't have to happen." he says quietly. She gives and sad smile and put an arm around his shoulders. "We all wish that Drake. When it comes down to it though, either you, me, or both of us are going to be dead." she says truthfully. He nods again. He can't really imagine Cecily dying. Or Lily for that matter. They both have to though if he's going to be able to go home. Not realizing it before, the sun was quickly setting once again in the arena. The pair quickened their pace and arrived at the tree in no time. Drake quickly scampered up the tree while Cecily took her time. She wasn't as experienced as Drake was and so did not feel like falling. So she steadies herself and the pair of them sit on a branch and wait for the seal to appear. It does. Then comes the beautiful face of Ariana. The seal once more then darkness. Ariana was truthfully a shock. That girl could kill you with a knife with her eyes closed. The careers. She couldn't handle the big pack. Drake climbs the two branches up to his fork in the tree. He spreads out his sleeping bag once more and falls into a dreamless slumber. The sun in his eyes is what ultimately wakes him up. They only gathered enough for last nights meal and they would have to pick more. So shaking Cecily awake, they start off again. They split again like they did yesterday, and he ventures a little farther out than yesterday. Then he sees it. "Blueberries!" he cries out in joy and rushes over to the bush. He plucks off several of them a waits for the juice to spread over his tongue. Only it doesn't. His throat begins to close up and that's when he knows the truth. Nightlock. 3,2,1. The cannon booms. Cecily's head snaps up and she takes off running. "Drake! Drake! Where are you?" she calls frantically. That's when she sees her ally. "Drake!" she says running over to him. He's dead. She feels the tears slide down her cheeks. "Drake! No! You'll pay!" she screams at the sky. "Look what you did! You are a bunch of monsters!" she keeps yelling and crying. Why him? Why now! This is not fair. Not fair at all.

Kai jumps. A cannon goes off. The careers cheer. Half gone half to play the game. All the careers are still alive so that's good I guess. Sort of. I mean when the careers split up its going to be another bloodbath. That's for sure. Kai half wonders who the cannon was for. Did that guy from 5 commit suicide or something? Or not? Who knows. He really shouldn't think much of it. I mean he was suave Kai Rose. Now he was awkward Kai Rose. Well, I guess its true, the games do change you. So he sits there awkwardly chewing on his beef strip. Stephen is still talking about the kill from yesterday and im pretty sure Sia wants to stab him through the heart right now. Can't say that he blames her. Kaleb and Natalie are still at each others throats. God their annoying too. So he sits away from the group slightly not wanting to engage in conversation. Sia turn her head towards him and crosses her eyes. Then pretends to choke herself. He lets out a soft chuckle. Everyone is sick of Stephen. He got a kill. Bit whoop! So did the rest of us. He thinks its because they're jealous. If they were jealous, they'd be treating Kai the same way. Its simply because the guy is super annoying. Honestly you'd think he might be able to take a hint. Uh no. Sia smiles slightly and turns back to the rest of them. "Stephen, will you please shut up and eat the food. We know you killed her." Natalie tells him annoyance creeping up in her voice. Kaleb snickers. The careers are hanging together by a thread and Kai just happens to be it. "Yo Natalie." she turns to face him. "Next kill. Mine." he glances at Sia. "Or Sia's" then he glances at Kaleb. "Ugh screw it. Anyone's but Stephen. He needs to stop bragging or the careers are going to split up early." its was implied to be a threat on Stephen. This time though, Stephen takes the hint.

Maria is sick of the weird time going on in the arena. Some days last 10 hours other days 17. What is going on? This is especially frustrating since she can't plan much without knowing how much time she has. Again today the sun was quickly setting and ruined her plans. She was going to go and see if Chesh is recovering or not. Its fun to stalk the stalker. Makes her feel pretty stealthy. She smiles at the word. Stealthy. That's fun. Carelessly, she does a couple back hand springs and such. She slashes up a tree after that, then washes her feet in this pond she found, and then goes to the stream to fill up her water bottle. Productive day she does dare say. She flips again. She had seen Ariana's face in the sky and was actually quite shocked. The girl was good with knives. She was actually expecting to die before Ariana. Well, that's gone. She's pretty proud of herself. She managed to A) not get killed and B) finish a kill. She really hoped she ha some sponsors. She could use a new knife. Or two. Who was she kidding? She could use a whole knife belt. The sun has almost set, and she decides she better find a place to sleep at. She spots some type of bush circle and lays out her bag there. She climbs in and attempts to close her eyes. Only, sleep never comes. Awesome. So she sits there with her eyes open looking up and the sky. Its still a little light out meaning the faces won't appear for another hour or so. So she lazily twirls her knife between her fingers and absently throws it at a grasshopper. It dies. She pulls the knife out of the dirt and goes back to twirling it. This is going to be a long night. Her stomach growls. Sighing she pulls out a cracker and munches on it. Its already stale. She chokes it down though. She washes it down with a bit of water. She lies her head back down. She really can't seem to fall asleep, so she just sits and waits for the seal to appear in the starry sky.

Lily jumps once the anthem starts and cranes her neck just in time to see the seal appear. Only to be replaced with Drake's smiling face. "DRAKE!" she screams out before she could stop herself. How did this happen? She feels tears run down her face and carelessly wipes them away. The tears are replaced with pure anger. She scoops up her axe and chucks it at the nearest tree. It embeds its self so deep she's not sure if she'll be able to yank it out. She stares at the axe. Next time she throws it, it will bring a cannon sound to follow. For Drake. She places on foot on the left side of the axe and yanks it out of the tree. She throws then yanks. Over and over and over again. She only stops when she fighting to breathe and her hair is matted to her face from the tears. She doesn't care who did it or what did it, all she knew is that Drake was going to be avenged. He deserves it. When she wins, she's going to take care of his parents, because that's what he would have wanted. If she wasn't before, she's set on getting home. For Drake and for herself. That is a promise she _will_ keep. For as long as she is in this dammed place. She can practically feel the victors crown being placed on her head, the bright lights, the cheering crowds, the starving children receiving the parcel food. She would bring her district glory. That was for certain.

**RIP Ariana and Drake.**

**Ariana- She was a great character to write with a lot of personality. She was also a fantastic get away artist.**

**Drake- ah man, he was the worst to kill. He will honestly be missed the most, just because he was so freaking epic.**

**Ok so the reason I made Drake eat the Nightlock, was because I honestly can't deal with a person murdering a 12 year old. I bawled my eyes out when Rue died, and I really didn't want to kill him like that, so Nightlock was the answer.**

**Like I said before, make sure to check out my new one shot and please review and vote!**

**~Kendyl~**


	18. The Monster I've Become

**Hi! So thanks for the reviews from the last chapter, love them. If you haven't already, will you please check out my newest one shot? Please? As always, review.**

**~Kendyl~**

Kai's eyes shot open. The night before the careers had seen Drake's face light up the sky and some girl scream his name out. The careers cheered but you could feel the fake ness of it. Truth was, noone wanted to see a 12 year old dead. Noone except the Capitol. So he groggily sat up and scanned the sleeping figures. Apparently Kaleb had again fallen asleep while on guard. Sighing, he went over and kicked Kaleb's legs a few times. Kaleb groaned and sat up. His eyes widen with the truth of what he had done. Kai rolls his eyes and moves on to waking Sia up. Kaleb kicks Stephen in his side and Stephen shoots up, earning a giggle from Sia. Wait, did Sia just _giggle_? Big bad Sia can giggle. Wow. Kai then wakes up Natalie who seems to think she can sleep in. Sia grabs a water bottle and promptly throws it on the "sleeping" figure of Natalie. Natalie rolls her eyes and stands up. She then straightens her clothes. "Alright. Today its me, Kaleb, and Kai" Natalie announces running her fingers through her knotted hair. Honestly sometimes she wished Meagan was here to fix it. Stephen gives off a groan but Sia slaps the back of his head. She so doesn't want to hear him whine. I mean he was supposed to be all big and bad with his siblings being victors and all, but really he's a whiny brat. In all honesty, Sia would not be sad in letting watching him drop. "Ow!" he exclaimed rubbing the spot where she had whacked him. Kaleb snickered. Was it just Stephen, or did that guy never talk? Shaking the thoughts out of his mind, he realized that he had been asked a question. "Wha-what?" Natalie sighs. "I said, is that a problem?" she quips. "N-no not it all." "Good" her eyes now narrowed at her district partner. He trudges over to his spot once more and makes a big show of guarding it. Sia rolls her eyes and takes her spot next to him pulling out two knives and lazily guarding. The other three gather up their weapons and venture into the forest. They probably sound like a herd of elephants. Twigs snapping here, leaves crunching there, their loud laughter everywhere, and not to mention but the clank of their weapons shifting and hitting their sides. Any tribute that was on their own, would be long gone by now, alliances? They might flee too. "Hey guys. We need to quiet it down." she whispers to her fellow allies. They nod and become more light on their feet. The trio talk in rushed whispers not wanting to warn the others of their presence. However, no tributes seem to be around. Cursing, Natalie stomps the ground in frustration. "All I'm asking for is one tribute. Just one! Come on now!" she yells at noone in particular. The boys eye each other and they both convince Natalie to keep going, insisting there might be other tributes farther down the path. She nods and continues to lead the others. They made little conversation instead focused on the task of finding a lone tribute. Sure the trio was strong, no doubt there, it was the simple fact of them not knowing how big the other alliances are, or if there is any at all. Without this information, the careers are essentially taking a shot in the dark. As soon as the path ends, the trio is let down. They see absolutely noone. Natalie is let down the most. She was supposed to be leading this pack in hopes of a victor coming out of it. Right now however, without the necessary kills, the careers might break up early. She could not have that.

Towner had been on the down-low ever since she had killed Sebastian. In all honesty, she would be completely fine with hiding for the majority of the games. The only problem? Food. She was simply not remembering the edible plants from the station, instead relying completely on sponsors. To keep sponsors, you must do something. So she sits in her cove and brainstorms on what to do next. She thinks back to the day before. _She had been wandering around looking for something to do when she saw him. The boy from 7. He was just about to eat Nightlock, even Towner knew what it was. She was just about to warn him when he plopped them all into his mouth. She watched horrified at the young boy jerking around. Finally he fell still and the cannon boomed. She then watched what must have been his ally shout some not-so-nice things at the Capitol and swear to avenge him. By now she had ran away._ She shook her head clearing the thought from her mind. How many of them were left? 12? She counts the dead. The girl from 3, the girl from 5, both from 6, the boy from 7, the boy from 8, both from 9, the boys from 10 and 11, and both from 12. Half of them gone. She had survived this long. She gave herself a mental pat on the back and went back to her thinking. After she had killed Sebastian, she had received a whole basket full of food. She didn't deserve it. Killing should be frowned upon not encouraged, but when her stomach grumbled she dug right in. Afterwards she had mentally slapped herself. She had ate all of it. All of it! Stupidest thing she has ever done. She absently picked up a stick and started drawing things in the dirt. She wrote her name then wiped away. Made a big 4, then again wiped it away. Then she had an idea. She quickly wrote, "To: My family and friends back home" she then skipped a reasonable amount of space. Then she wrote, "I'll see you guys soon." She didn't write it because she was confident she would get home, no she wrote it to give them hope. To give them the confidence. Though the message did have a ring of truth to it. I mean, the way people were getting killed in this arena, these might be the quickest games ever. Also, she might see them soon, I mean she had the same chance as anyone, she might not be able to see them either. No, they might see a big wooden box with her cold and clammy dead body. She erased the thought. If she was to get anywhere in these games, she needed to get out of her cove and get into the action. It truly was the only way she was every going to feel the light breeze of district 4. Fell the granules of sand between her feet, the sound of the waves crashing over the rocks, the sound of the fishermen's boats bells in the morning, she smell of fish and sea salt, and of course the every smiling faces of her family and friends. She Towner Hills had to experience these things again. She was determined to do whatever it took, now more than ever.

Cecily was still fuming over last nights events. This was all the Capitol's fault! Did they want her to play their games? Well, she was going to play them alright. She'll down right win these things. She continues to slice up the tree in her fit of rage. Play the games Cecily, play the games. She scoops up the remaining daggers and sets off in search of someone, _anyone_. It doesn't take long surprisingly. There's the boy from 3, slicing up a tree less than 8 feet in front of her. Her rage threatening boil over she charges him. He whips around at the last possible second and deflects her blow with the hilt of his sword. She slashes again at him widely and he narrowly misses being shredded. He tries pressing her back, but she keeps coming at him. One slash he's off by a second and she cuts his cheek wide open. The taste and smell of blood quickly overwhelms him. He jabs the sword at her but she dodges quickly. He swings widely at her but she has other plans. She tackles him to the ground knocking his sword somewhere of to the side. She attempts to pin him down with little success. He quickly gets the upper hand. He fidgets and is able to grab one of her knives. He starts to cut a line down the side of her face. She spits in his. Momentarily blinded, she throws him off of herself and grabs her dagger. She knees him in the chest, bringing him down to his knees. She circles to the back of him, pulls his hair back, and cuts a deep slit in his throat. His eyes roll back into his head, and he falls to the ground just as the cannon sounds. She quickly wipes the beads of sweat off her fore head and grabs the assorted knives that have been thrown around. Without a second glance, she leaves the scene. As she walks away, the impact of what she had just done hits her full force. Drakes dead, she's all alone, and most importantly she just killed someone. She grips her stomach as she falls over. She's in tears and she can't stand herself. How could she stoop so low, that she actually played these monsters games. She continues to shuffle along and back to the tree. She half heartily climbs up and settles on her fork. Her sobs wrack her entire body and she's wailing so loud it's a shock noone has found her. She cries until she's sure she has no tears left in her system. She lays out her sleeping bag and curls into a ball. How did she let herself do this?

The cannon boom startles Maria, so much so that she falls on her butt. Groaning, she stands back up and continues what she was doing. Which happens to be making a lean-to. Truth is she was sick of lying on dirt and stuff all night, so she's making this. She spent 3 hours of her day weaving these grass mat things, 1 hour making the roof, and is currently making the walls. She throws the grass and sticks in frustration. This is taking forever! She rubs her temples. What has she accomplished? All this time? Finishing a kill, washing a shirt, and building this stupid thing. Go Maria! Quite accomplished I see. Hahaha shut up voice in my head. No you shut up Maria. No you voice. No you. No you. No you. No you. "God! Everyone shut up!" she screams at the top of her lungs. She quickly clamps her hands over her mouth and dives into a bush. She hears no footsteps in the 10 minutes that she's hiding, so she cautiously climbs out of the spot. She silently creeps over to her thrown materials and gets back to work. She ties the ends of the sticks together until the basic frame is a square. She then fills in the rest with various sticks ultimately making a wall. Go her! She then ties the wall to one side of the roof. "1 down 3 to go." she grumbles under her breath. She finishes the other 3 in virtually no time at all. Then she hears the yelling again. It started after the last cannon rang out, then it stopped about an hour and a half later. Now here it is again. Great. She suspects its one of the careers complaining about not killing or something. Judging by the tone, she'd say it's a girl. Based on personality, she'd say its Natalie. She rolls her eyes and puts the mats inside the little lean-to. She lays back and closes her eyes. She thinks of happy things. Anything but the arena. Anything but the arena. Anything but the arena. "SHUT UP!" Natalie's high pitched voice cuts through her relaxation. Her eyes snap open and she sits up. "God Natalie shut up." she whispers to herself. Will she ever get to sleep?

"Are you kidding me!" Natalie yells when the cannon goes off. Now 3 hours later Kai and the others are still listening to her. Kill him now. "What are they? The opposite ends of a magnet! Honestly, we can't seem to find a single one, and they always run into each other!" she continues to rage. "Natalie maybe we just aren't looking hard enou-" Stephen begins. "SHUT UP!" she screeches at him her voice suddenly pitchy. She threw some more stuff, and Kai could clearly see Sia trying to contain her smile. Then she lost it. Sia burst out laughing and Kai couldn't help but do the same. Kaleb soon joined in, but Stephen sat there awkwardly. The big surprise however, was when Natalie died laughing. So they all laughed until their sides hurt, but still Stephen sat there looking at them like they were crazy. You know the funny thing though? Everyone in this arena is pretty much crazy, or heading there. So they continue to laugh. They all start to regain their composure and start to realize how dark it is. They decide that Sia will be on guard first and start to set up the sleeping bags. As usual, the line up goes like this, Natalie on the far left with Stephen on her right, Sia next to him with Kaleb on the other side, and then Kai. They guess that they have at least an hour before the announcement starts, so they decide to do something. So naturally they choose to play kill list. "Natalie you first!" Sia says with that evil glint in the eye. "Alright, um how about that lover boy from 5. He's pretty annoying." Stephen is up next. "How about that chick from 10? She'd be fun." Natalie cracks a smile. "I want that crazy one from 7. God she annoys me." Sia says fingering as if tempted to pull out a knife. "The guy from 3. He took one of the swords." Kaleb grunts. Little did they know his face would light up the sky. "Um how about that freaky girl from 11. She needs to go." Kai states. "Yes! That girl scares me. She's fricken creepy." Sia says curling her lip up in disgust. "You got that right." Natalie says curling her lip the same way. So they sit there waiting for the face to light up the night sky as they talk about Chesh. Then they move on to home. Natalie shrugs. "I've got my parents and my sister. Oh and my boyfriend, Aaron." she says. "Well, I got my brother and sister. Then my parents. They all annoy me." he says as he shrugs as well. "I got my father. I hate him though. Tried to kill him. Noone else." Sia says with no pain in her voice at all. The pack's eyes widen when they hear this, except Kaleb. He just nods already knowing. "I've got my dad." Kaleb starts. Then he breaks out into a huge smile. "And my fiancé, Delilah." all the careers can't help but smile. Its so hard to find love in this screwed up country that when someone has found it, its truly amazing. "I've got my parents and my little sister, Mia." Kai says. Then of course the anthem has to blare out. The seal appears only to be replaced with Sawyers stern face. The seal once more then the sky goes black. "Guess this means 3's out of the running too." Sia says shock evident on her face. Noone was expecting that face. "Yeah. I guess so." Kaleb says climbing into his sleeping bag. This was going to be interesting.

**RIP Sawyer**

**Sawyer- great character that was very loyal to his siblings. A great tribute indeed.**

**Ok so I'm going to say a little gist on the remaining tributes:**

**Natalie: Leader of the career pack, semi-crazy, bloodthirsty.**

**Stephen: the laughing stock of the careers. He appears to everyone as a whiney brat. I've got a surprise coming up involving him. *winkwink***

**Sia: Natalie's right hand woman. Possibly the second most cruelest career. Kaleb being the first. The favorite to win this year.**

**Kaleb: the least talkative, but bloodthirsty just the same. He's really a merciless killer. Just hasn't had a great kill.**

**Towner: the non-career. She's a calculative** **killer if you would. She's not exactly a spy like Chesh, but hides pretty well.**

**Kai: the awkward member of the pack. Mostly because everyone around him is pretty much crazy.**

**Reiyn: ever so slowly going insane after what happened with Ariana. Also the master of traps.**

**Lily: the most feared person in the games that's not a career. She'll do anything to get home, but also must avenge Drake.**

**Maria: she's basically Chesh's stalker. She's plotting a way to get the girl to be gone. She will do more flippy stuff in the coming chapters!**

**Cecily: the rage queen. Filled with rage after Drake's death, she sets off in search of a tribute. She wins the fight and understands what she had just did. She has become the monster the Capitol wanted.**

**Chesh: or Shadow Shira, the sneak of the games. The girls stealth can only keep her alive for so long...**

**Ok so, if you want a character to have a part, PM me or put it in your review. Poll results next chapter. Please review!**

**~Kendyl~**


	19. A Stab In The Back

**Aloha! Thanks for yours reviews guys, honestly you are the very best. My goal is to finish this story before I go back to school so, yeah. Yeah. Please leave a review.**

**~Kendyl~**

Two days have passed with no deaths. The Capitol audience and the careers were getting impatient. Sia sharpened her knives waiting for her fellow allies to wake up. Ten minutes passed and not a single one of them made a move to get up. Sighing, she went over and shook Kai until he woke. He yawned and sat up groggily. Kai shoved Kaleb and the guy got up with no complaints. Sia shook both Stephen and Natalie until both of them were hitting her. She rolls her eyes and backs away allowing the duo to get up. They groan while doing so. "So..." Stephen begins. "Me, Kai, and Sia." Natalie says not bothering to cast him a glance. His eyes travel downwards. Kai gives him an awkward pat on the back. Natalie shrugs. "Sorry, but were getting a kill today. I so don't want to be plagued by mutts." Natalie says noticing her district partners let down expression. He nods knowingly. Sia wastes no time in gathering her things. She quickly fastens on her knife belt and slings a pack over her shoulder. Natalie still half wonders why Sia didn't want to be the leader of the pack. She would be Natalie's first choice. Hell, she was probably everyone's first choice. It makes her wonder what that girl is up to, or nothing at all. She shakes her head. No time to get suspicious of each other. Sia raises an eyebrow at their leader. "Hey Natalie, you ok?" she asks concern edging into her voice. Natalie blinks once, twice, three times before turning to face her. "Yeah, let's go!" she says scooping up her bow. Kai rolls his eyes and picks up his spear. The trio make their way down the worn dirt path, only stopping when they come across the river. The fill their water bottles to the brim and eat a snack. They also take this time to walk to the pond not far from there and wash their hands and feet. Natalie scrubs her feet until the others are sure she has scrubbed all her skin off. They continue on their way being sure to check high and low for any tributes. They find noone once again. Natalie inhales**. **Then exhales. "Come on. Let's check elsewhere." she says trying to keep her voice calm. The other two nod and follow her onto an unfamiliar pathway. So they swat at every bug, cut away at every vine, and manage to not get poison ivy. I'd say that's pretty good no? They come across a oddly placed clearing. In the middle of it? A lean-to. "FINALLY!" Natalie screams running to it. The other two follow closely behind. Noone's there. "Are you freaking kidding me?" Natalie yells kicking the miniature shelter**. **It falls to the ground. She runs her fingers threw her hair. They hear a rustle. Their heads snap in the sounds direction. "What was that?" Natalie hisses. They all take off running in the direction they were focused on.

Maria had been having a great day before she decided to go back to her lean-to. There stood the careers frustrated because she wasn't there. Uh-oh. Ever so quietly she turns around preparing to leave and of course the leaves have to make a rustle. Then a twig snaps. Oh come on! The careers heads snap in her direction and she holds her breath. Maybe they'll leave? Why would they do that? No, they take off running straight for her. So guess what? So does she. Thank god she's really light on her feet. She glides of sticks and tree roots like she's been doing this her whole life. In 8? Yeah right. The place is one big polluted, factory-ridden, drab, hole of death. You'd think it have color considering they make all these amazing clothes, but no. Its gray and run down. Though she doesn't doubt it is way better than 12. That district's the definition of run-down. Her eyes snap open in remembrance of what she's doing. Running from the trio of careers behind her. Right. Focus. She channels so inner strength and runs faster. The careers start to lose their distance until their just a spot in the distance. She stops and basically coughs up her lungs. She throws her pack on the ground and hastily opens it up. She makes a mad grab for her water bottle then chugs it down. She throws the now empty bottle back into her bag and zips it up. She slings it over her shoulder and hits her back with an ommf. She trudges threw the unknown area she finds herself in. She almost falls straight on her face after tripping over god knows what. She straightens up and brushes off her pants. "Nice going Maria" she mumbles to herself. She continues walking until she hits a path. Shrugging, she takes it and ends up at a pond. Not wasting any time, she quickly fills her water bottle and puts the iodine in it. While waiting, she causally glanced at her surroundings. Trees, more trees, and even more trees. Wait... is that a cave? She peered more closely. Is that Chesh!? she grinned from ear to ear. She could finally be rid of the girl! Silently she picked up two of her knives and silently crept towards the cave. Chesh wiggled her way into it. Now Maria knew how to get her. When she was within 5 feet of the cave she stops. What the frick is she going to do? Knock on the front of the cave and go,"Yo Cheshy! Come out of there I want to kill you!" Yeah, no. She rubs her temples. Then her head perks up. Again silently, she creeps up to the cave and quickly scales to the top. Time to play the waiting games.

Chesh greedily ripped open her pack. She had managed to recognize some plants and berries and was super excited that she wasn't a complete failure. She really hoped she recognized the correct ones. Noone has died and she really doesn't the newest face in the sky. Really doesn't want that to be her. So she sits and eats her berries and the last of her crackers. She even hums a little tune. Then her annoyance kicks in. She had seen that boy from 3's picture in the sky and would love it if the freaking Capitol would tell them how they died. I mean, the 12 year old. Chesh really wanted to know who was heartless enough to kill him. Alas, the Capitol sucks and they all know it. So she munches. Then something bizarre happens. Someone knocks on the top of the cave. She freezes. What the? Another knock. She takes the last berry and puts it into her mouth. Again a knock. Chesh grabs two of her knives and wiggles her way out of the cave. She stands up and tightens the grip on her knives. She whirs around to face the cave. Noone is on top of it. "What th-" she starts but is cut off when something jumps on her back. So of course, she screams. Chesh begins to get the upper hand her attacker and pins them down. Its Maria. "What the hell was that for!" she yells at her. Maria squirms trying to lessen the others grip. Then she remembers Chesh is a rich girl. Plenty of food. To heavy to unseat. So she spits in Chesh's face. Her grip lessens slightly and Maria uses this to throw the other off of her. She then throws dirt into her eyes. Chesh falls backwards onto the ground desperately trying to get the dirt out of her eyes. Maria and Chesh stand up at the same exact time. Chesh's eyes flash with pure anger. "Your. Dead. 8." She grits between her teeth. "Bring it on 11." Maria taunts humored by the others reaction. Chesh lunges for Maria but she's prepared. She step sides Chesh at the last possible second. She laughs bitterly then once again launches herself onto Chesh. Chesh however, was not expecting that. Maria easily pinned her down. "You know what this arena needs less of?" "What?" Chesh spits. "Shadows." Maria whispers bringing out her knife. She starts to bring it down when Chesh yells, "Stop!" Maria does but allows the knife to hover. "I'll make you a deal." Chesh says with a gulp. Maria motions for her to go on. "If you don't kill me..." she begins as she eyes Maria carefully "then, I would love an alliance with you." Maria ponders. "Fine. It's a deal." Maria says getting off of the girl. Chesh springs up. "Cool." Chesh says walking back towards her cave. Maria smirks and allows the knife to freely leave from her hand. Two seconds latter she catches the gleam of the knives edge right before it enters the back of Chesh's neck.

The cannon boom sends Cecily back to her panicked state. She suddenly has the urge to run and look for Drake only to find him dead. She hasn't slept since she murdered the other. Both of their faces haunt her in her nightmares. She let one die and killed the other. She grips the sides of her head. She really hasn't slept. Just sat up in her tree feeling sorry for herself. She hasn't ate either. Her stomach growls but she ignores it. She should die up in this tree. Alone, not remembered, a shell of the person she used to be. Then she makes the stupid mistake of thinking of Blaine and Tanith. Were they watching her now? They must be. Were they seeing her downwards spiral? Probably. If she somehow managed to get out of the arena she was sure she'd be one of those victors. The ones who couldn't handle it and turned to Morphling and alcohol. She sure as hell wouldn't be member able. She then thought of her competitors in this arena. Well of course there was the careers, then there was that beautiful girl from 4, the trap guy from 5, Lily, The flippy girl from 8, her, and the shadow stalker girl. Only 10 left because she would love to know who just died but doesn't have that luxury. Well why would she? She rolls her eyes then laughs. A real laugh. Not forced or anything of the sort. The kind of laugh she would use at home. She laughs again. Then again and again until she can't stop. It feels great. Like she's releasing everything from her system. She cuts off abruptly. Why was she laughing again? Honestly she scares herself sometimes. So for the first time since she killed Sawyer, Cecily quickly made her way down the tree and hit solid ground. It felt... nice. She stretched her legs out along with her arms. Note to self: don't spend two days up in a tree crying until you see no return. Note to self. Copy that. She jogs in a circle around the tree and manages to only trip twice. That's an accomplishment. Not.

They finally found one. Finally. There in the middle of the clearing sits that boy from 5. Kai and Sia are currently awaiting Natalie's signal so they can pounce on their prey. There it is. The duo leap out of the bushes and tackle Reiyn to the ground. "Ariana?" he asks them confused. He thought she was dead. Kai and Sia eye each other. Was this guy for real? "Um no. She's dead. Has been for a while now." Sia says now realizing this guy must be off his rocker. "NO! You lie!" he screams at them. Wait she's dead Reiyn get a grip. His eyes are wide and its really freaking the two of them out. "Natalie!" they call at the same time. She comes racing towards them. "ARIANA!" he screams. Where is she? Natalie knows what the problem is immediately. She pushes Kai out of the way and holds Reiyn's arm until she's sure she's at the point where she can almost break it. Kai grabs his spear. "Wait!" Sia starts handing him a knife. "Give the Capitol a show." she says darkly. He nods and stands over Reiyn. He slowly cuts a deep gash across his forehead causing Reiyn to cry out in pain. The blood sprays onto the girls faces but they don't seem to care. So he cuts open his stomach. Then makes a gash in his leg. The blood is warm and fragrant as it fills the air. The trios faces are twisted up in sick joy watching the boy suffer. His loud pleas are droned out by the sound of metal hitting his skin. This causes them to laugh. Kai keeps this up until the boy is hanging on by a thread. He tosses the knife back to Sia and grabs his spear. "Don't worry you'll be seeing Ariana very soon." Kai taunts lining up the spear. In a split second his spear tip is plunged into Reiyn's heart and the cannon finally sounds. "That was amazing!" Sia cheers springing up. She throws her arms around his neck and gives him a quick peck on the cheek. Ok he was so not expecting that to happen. She grabs her knife and runs over to the spring and quickly wipes it off. Natalie's eyes keep on flitting from Sia and back to him. "Well, we better let the hovercraft do its thing." Natalie says trying to sound nonchalant. She fails miserably. Sia quickly nods and almost skips back to camp. Almost. It would have been hysterical if she did. Alas she didn't so Kai quickly dips his spear into the pond and races to catch up with his allies. Sia is going into a very descriptive telling of the events that just took place. Very descriptive. By the time they reach the camp again Kai is sure he won't be sleeping for months. He's sure she really stretched the truth. She had to. Right? "You guys get a kill?" Kaleb asks. Kai's mouth forms into an evil grin that says it all. The whole group erupts into cheers. Finally the careers catch their break.

After a half an hour of screaming the cannon finally goes off. Towner sinks back into her hiding place. Stupid careers. Torturing people. They can all go to hell. All of them. She'll gladly sit and wait them out. It seems her looks and attitude during her interview have secured her a lot of sponsors. I mean a lot. They send her food and water every single day. Every single day. She could honestly just sit here and do nothing and still win these games. Isn't that just sad? She thinks it is. None the less she sits and munches on her crackers. The sun is quickly setting and quite honestly Towner was tired. She had spent an hour of her day making sure the cave looked well hidden and was secure. She hoped it was enough. Hoped. The sun is now completely down. The anthem blares out scaring the crap out of her. She cranes her head just in time to catch Reiyn's face. Followed by Chesh's. Towner is taken a back. Did she see that correctly? Chesh? Whoa. The seal is there once more then replaced with darkness. She twists her head back to its correct way and lays down. 15 dead 9 left to play these games. How did the numbers dwindle down so quickly? The world may never know. Now, Towner realizes, the odds are slightly more in others favors. The dead ones.

**RIP Chesh&Reiyn**

**Chesh- I actually really enjoyed writing this character. She had a lot of dimension and a lot to go off of.**

**Reiyn- Well, I really liked Reiyn and his short romance with Ariana. It was cute.**

**Poll results!**

**In first place with 5 votes is... Reiyn and Ariana!**

**In second place with 2 votes is... Stephen and Sia, Kai and Sia, and Coron and Towner.**

**In third with 1 vote is... Stephen and Natalie and Cecily and Blaine.**

**The other two had no votes. **

**As always please review! P.S. New poll up!**


	20. A Betrayal At Heart

**Ok gonna make this short, I have to go back to school soon, so when I do, updates won't be as often as I'd like them to be. In the meantime though please review!**

**~Kendyl~**

Clink! The next pebble hits the rock. Clink! Clink! Two more. Kai's still bored out of his mind. Couldn't they wake up now? Please? They had had a miniature feast last night for the fact of getting a kill. Though he didn't believe that he deserved something like that, he didn't oblige. Clink! "Please wake up." he muttered to himself. Fed up, he threw a pebble at Stephen's face. Then another one. The another until his eyes finally opened. "Hey morning. Get Natalie up!" He called over to Stephen. Still half asleep, Stephen gently shook Natalie. Then he tripped over nothing and fell on top of her. Her eyes shot open and Stephen scrambled to get off of her. "WHAT THE FRICK STEPHEN!" she shouted in his face. Her screaming caused the other two to sit straight up in alarm. After realizing the situation, muttered profanity under their breath. Kai simply leaned back and enjoyed the scene the pair from 1 were putting on. "SORRY? SORRY! SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT STEPHEN!" her yelling slightly higher than before. Kai then burst out laughing. Natalie snapped her head to look at him. "What's so funny Kai?" she says through gritted teeth. "Oh nothing. Nothing at all." he says innocently. She turns back to Stephen. "Before you even ask, its going to be me, Kaleb, and you. Congrats." she spits at him**. **"Well, um, that's nice but I have a different question." he says softly. She raises her eyebrow. "That is?" she questions. "So its like down to the final 9, and I was thinking... when were we gonna split up?" he chokes out. Natalie never really considered this. They all knew they would have to split up, with violence or peace was the real question. A question the never dreamed of discussing. So she stood and thought. "Tomorrow morning, we'll grab a pack and our weapons and head in opposite directions." she decided scanning her allies faces. They all nod at the same time not bothering to meet each others eyes. Problem is, somehow they all managed to become friends. Yes friends. As impossible as it is in these games they are friends. Even when the threatened to rip each others throats out, they are friends. "Good. Kaleb, Stephen, Let's go." she demands the two boys. They once again nod and pick up their swords. Already, Natalie strings an arrow and begins to lead the others down an unused path. As if it would make a difference. They all decided they better focus on finding the girl from 7, seeing as how she seemed to be their biggest threat. Noone even mentioned Towner as if she had been an ex-girlfriend of one of the boys and none of them wanted to talk about her. They never considered her a threat. However, when they split up she will be a threat as will everyone else in the arena. So eliminating some of them now wouldn't be such a bad thing. In fact it might as well reserve one of them the victors crown. The problem is, who should be able to wear it? That's a question too dangerous for anyone to ask. Even if it means a certain win for someone else. Take out the strongest link and your guaranteed better odds. Though the odds haven't been as dependable as of late.

"Not again!" Maria yells for the eighth time today. She's trying to start a fire with poor results. She hits the stones again. They spark. "This time. This time for sure." she mutters hastily bringing a dry twig near it. It finally lights. "SUCCESS!" she yells at the sky bringing her arms up. She adds little more dry things to her miniature fire. It blazes strong in no time at all. Maria once again puts her now dead and skinned bird on the end of a stick. She slowly roasts it over the fire until its burnt to a crisp. She quickly stomps out the fire seriously hoping the careers didn't catch sight of the smoke. She grips her stick tighter and wiggles through the entrance and into the cave. She sits down on her sleeping bag and takes her first bite of bird. It practically melts in her mouth. Its actually really good. I mean you have to compare it to crackers and dried beef it's the best thing ever. She finishes it fairly quickly. She wipes her now greasy hands on her pants and almost burst out laughing. If her escort was here she would be lectured to death about manners. Then she laughs at that thought. Her escort in the games. Lecturing to death. Oh the Capitol is so easy to make fun of. Its quite funny really. Then boredom hits her. She huffs. Then crawls over to the opening and wiggles through it once more until she's hit with sunlight. So she flips. A back tuck then a front one. Then of course a triple back handspring. Then a triple front one. Then bam! She hits the ground after doing a suicide. She smiles. It helps her forget about the pain that is currently shooting up her behind. Not a smart move Maria. She rubs her lower back while standing up. Thud! She whip around only to see a parachute. She breathes a sigh of relief and quickly opens it up. Its an ice pack. Then there's a note. "Stop doing stupid stuff 'Flips'. -W" she scoffs at her nickname her mentor gave her. He just won the 20th games and she really thought he had no idea what he was talking about. Seriously, he's 21, how good can he be at this thing? He might have been the second victor to come out of 8 the first one killing themself. But hey, she's still alive so that's what counts. She throws the note in her pocket and slaps the ice pack on her lower back. She once again wiggles her way into the cave wincing when she hits her sore spot on an edge. She falls face first onto her sleeping bag. "Perfect" she mutters picking herself up. She lays down shifting so her lower back still has the ice pack on it. She closes her eyes and tries to relax.

Lily adjusts the vine rope thing once again. She's setting this axe trap thing. She realized carryingtwo axes is two too many. So she tied up an axe and whenever someone triggers the trap their head is going to roll. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Now? Not so much. She jumps down out of the tree and picks up a random rock. She throws it at the trip trigger. Nothing happens. "Are you kidding me!" she yells climbing up the tree once again. She adjusts the knots once again. God this was getting annoying. She snapped a branch off the tree and angled it so it would hit the trip trigger. It actually works this time. "Thank god" she mutters as she pulls on the vine. She resets the trap. "Done and done." she says jumping out of the tree. She jumps over the trip trigger while walking away. She really doesn't want to be killed by her own trap. That would be pretty stupid. Like, really stupid. She picks her way through the area her eyes like a hawks searching for tributes. She's made it to the final 9. She's going to win this now more than ever. She whistles a short little tune. The mockingjays quickly pick up on it. The notes seem to bounce off the arena's force field in such a beautiful way. She closes her eyes and listens to all the sounds. The birds chirping, the soft breeze rustling the leaves, and her soft footsteps on the forest floor. It feels like home. Its weird for sure finding home in the arena, but the forest is her home. This is a forest. Home. Forest. The words bounce around in her head. Its quite a lot for her to process. Does this really feel like home? Or do I just want to make it feel like home? Who in the hell knows. Everything is messed up in her mind. She can barely make sense of left and right. Now she's rambling. She shakes her head dismissing any thoughts she previously had. Focus. Just focus. She inhales sharply. She doesn't feel like herself. She doesn't feel loving. Rather heartless. She's always loving. Always. These games have changed her. For the worse. She's now just a heartless killing machine. She hates herself for it. How could she let the Capitol control her like this? Make her something she's not? Will her recklessness cause her to never see her siblings again? Is that what they want? Is this some kind of sick joke? In her mind it most defiantly is. Just a cruel, sick, twisted joke. This is all for their entertainment and guess what? I played their games. Oh I played them just like they wanted me to. Guess what else? She stooped to their level. That sort of thing is unheard of in district 7. Well, now they hear it.

"Noone as usual." Kaleb mumbles under his breath. The sun was already setting and the careers had found noone. As usual. Natalie sighed and told the other two they might as well head back. Everyone had kind of been down in the dumps since this mornings announcement. The three of them trudged back to camp and were surprised to see Kai and Sia sitting by a fire talking and laughing. "Hey guys!" Natalie called to them. They turned their heads so they could look at the trio emerging from the forest. "Hey!" they both call back. Sia's sure her smile is as big as ever. The three slump down next to the fire throwing their unused weapons behind them. They were really hoping for a kill to ease the numbers but had run out of luck. Kai offered them all a small smile which them all returned. The air grew noticeably thicker as they all wanted to say something but the words couldn't form. Sia silently cursed herself with getting close to Kai and Kaleb. That wasn't her style. Her thoughts are interrupted by Stephen's talking. "Whose on first watch?" he questions as his eyes flit around the group. Noone speaks up. "I can do it I guess..." he volunteers. The rest of the group offers up a small smile and crawls into their sleeping bags. Sia honestly can't seem to close her eyes. She can't trust these people anymore. Its one man for themselves in these games. She has no idea how much time passes while she lays there, but is snapped back into reality by a voice. Stephen's voice. "Can't sleep?" he asks her. She smiles slightly. "Not at all."

"Couldn't even if I wanted too." he tells her honestly. It amazes him that anyone on their own can go to sleep. Her smile stays. "Well, that won't do will it?" she asks ending with a wink. "No not at all." he says. Without even realizing it, he leans in and presses his lips to hers.

Her eyes widen in surprise then flash with anger as she pushes him off of her. "Get off me Talcott!" she seethes. "Sia wai-" he begins but she cuts him off. "No, go to sleep I'll keep watch." she says desperately trying not to strangle the boy. She stomps over to the rock and plunks down. She takes deep breaths. Then she remembers something. Kaleb and her's plan. She sits for 20 minutes recalling every last detail of the plan. She tip-toes over to the sleeping figures of her once allies. They're all asleep. A wicked grin lights up her face. She gently shakes Kaleb awake. He looks at her bewildered. She makes a 'P' with her fingers indicating their plan. He gives a sharp nod and silently sits up. She fills him a pack and herself one. Then Natalie and Kai. She puts their bags by their heads. Along with Natalie's bow and arrow and Kai's spear. She straps on her knives and Kaleb grabs his sword. She then takes Stephen's sword, stands over him, and brings the tip down on his heart.

**RIP Stephen**

**Stephen- oh how I loved thee. He made me laugh and he made me love writing the career's parts. I will miss him.**

**Ugh this took forever. God sorry for its shortness too. I am tired now. Peace out!**

**P.S. Don't forget to review!**

**~Kendyl~**


	21. The Final 8

**Gooday mates. Ok so a bit of information about the last chapter, so the note Maria received was from her mentor, 'W'. 'W' is Woof. Just thought I'd let you know. Anyway, please review!**

**~Kendyl~**

It was pure chaos at the career camp. Warm blood sprayed across Sia's face and cannon sounded not long after. She whipped around, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and took off. Kaleb was right on her heels. Natalie and Kai's eyes snapped open at the sound of the cannon. They both sat straight up and then noticed Stephen. Dead. Natalie sprang up just as Kai did. They both noticed the pack and weapon sitting by their heads. With a simple head nod, the two of the scooped up their things and ran in the opposite direction. The alliance was broken.

Meanwhile in the mentor station, Stephen's siblings were throwing a fit. The other mentors were looking at them like they were crazy. Sure he's their brother, but if you didn't want him to die, why let him volunteer? Why not wait a bit longer? Its Mags from district 4 that finally calms the two down. They still have the girl and that's who they should be focused on. Should be. Though they won't. They'll just continue to throw a fit over their brothers death, and shout mean and horrible things at the district 2 mentors. As if it was really their faults. It was their tribute. Not them. It was Sia's fault.

Natalie stumbled across some unknown path. How did this happen? Treason. They had a plan! More importantly who? Sia? Kaleb? Which one! It was frustrating enough not knowing who killed your district partner, but even more frustrating because now she has to carry district one's win on her shoulders. Her shoulders alone. She checks her quiver. 5 arrows left. "Hey Amethyst! If I have any sponsors left would you mind sending some more arrows? Pleaseeee?" she calls up to the sky. Not 10 seconds later she hears the beeping. "Thank you!" she says running over to catch it. She quickly open it up to reveal a whole new quiver. She slips the old one off, removes the arrows, and throws it into the shrubbery. She puts the extra 5 arrows into her pack and slings the new quiver over her shoulders. Then she notices the miniature note in the bottom. "Turn around -A" she slips it into her pocket then strings up an arrow. She slowly turns around only to see the unthinkable. A mutt. She freezes. Its glowing red eyes and razor sharp teeth stand there looking at her. Then it pounces. She quickly aims at releases the arrow. With a soft whimper it dies. She takes a breath and strings up another arrow and takes off in the opposite direction of the mutt. That's enough excitement for one day. At least she thought it was.

Cecily eyes snap open at the sound of the anthem. The seal appears only to be replaced with Stephens face. Cecily's eyes widen with surprise. The pack is broken up. She's made it to the final 8. No way. Her face breaks out into the biggest smile. She could go home. She could win it all! If she just stays up in the tree and waits them out she could win! She laughs in spite of herself. She could see Blaine! And Tanith! Everything would be perfect! Oh sweet joy. She quickly jumped down out of the tree and hit solid ground. Then she sang.

"I'm coming home, I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming home.

Let the rain, wash away

All the pain of yesterday.

I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes

I'm coming home, I'm coming home

Tell the world that I'm coming... Home."

She smiles pleased that she remembers the song her mother used to sing to her. It always seemed to calm her down enough to the point where she could sleep. Her mother always seemed to know just the way to put her children to bed. Or send a message to everyone. Her mother always did have a way to get through to her. Though, it doesn't matter now. Her mother is gone and there's no getting her back. Just like Drake's never coming back. Oh here we go again.

Sia hasn't stopped running. She doesn't think she can. Kaleb is still right behind her egging her on. This had been the plan all along. They would break up the pack and get the hell out of there. Mission accomplished. She ran out of breath and collapsed. Apparently Kaleb didn't see her or something because he tripped right over her. He landed with a sickening thud. "Uh are you ok?" she asks him. "Yeah.." he says pushing himself up. She had to laugh. They stood and faced each other. "Good luck" he said giving her hand a shake. "You as well." she said returning the shake. They offered each other a final smile and headed in the opposite direction. Sia was once again on her own. Just like after their deaths. Her sisters and her mothers. Her father wandered the streets and didn't pay her much attention until she told him she wanted to train. Well, you know what happens next. Anyone that truly knows her knows what happens next. So that means... Kaleb is the only one. Well isn't that special. So special indeed. She absently throws a knife at a tree. Will daylight ever come? Yes, and then it will be gone as quickly as it came. Just like any other day in this prison. Just like any other day.

Towner watches as Natalie rushes by. She must have seen the mutts too. They're everywhere. It kind of scares her a bit. She hears a growl. "Another one seriously?" she mumbles turning around. Sure enough, there sits a mutt. Before it even as time to process the situation her spear is lodged in its stomach. She wanders over to it and gives her spear a yank. It comes out like a knife is butter. She wanders back to her post. She can't sleep. Can't even think about it. Not with the mutts roaming around. Not with the careers roaming around. She's come too far to die right now. Come to think of it they all have. The final 8. Its time for Towner to come out of the shadows. She has what it takes to win. Now she just has to show them she can.

God finally the sun is coming up. Kai stumbled across some path he's been taking. Apparently not a good path to take. He hits a trip trigger. Lily's axe cuts through the air. He catches sight of it and scrambles to get out of the way. Not so lucky. It catches him right in the stomach and he falls over. His vision is doubled but he can clearly see another figure walking towards him. The glint of an axes edge gives her away. Its Lily, and she's come to finish her kill. He closes his eyes waiting for her to end this. There it is. The blade enters his chest and he's met with an extremely bright white light. Well that wasn't good.

The cannon boom seems to echo off the boundaries of the arena. It sure is hell scared Maria half to death. She's always been a very jumpy person (Mostly because she's always alone) but in the arena is magnified by 10. She jumps at every little sound. Though some are just begging for it. I mean they've all seen the mutts. She doesn't want to be their dinner. Wait a second... if they can't eat one of us, what do they eat? Or don't they? That's a question that will leave her hanging. Though she laughs because really what does it have to do with anything? Nothing at all. She rakes her fingers through her hair trying to get rid of the various leaves and smaller twigs that have found their way into her wavy locks. She grabs one of her knives and brings it to her hair. She cuts a good inch off the bottom resulting in the cut hair to fall to the ground. Along with some leaves and a bit of dirt. She can't stop though. So she cuts off 4 more inch's so that her hair is just below her shoulders. It feels like a weight has been lifted. She feels really free in a way. As free as she can be in this place. She steps out into the early morning's breeze. She lifts her arms slightly and stands on her tiptoes letting the breeze rush through her. She closes her eyes and dreams up something. Anything. Freedom. "Freedom." she whispers out loud. The word feels nice coming out of her mouth. Freedom.

Now that she's on her own, Natalie is craving for a kill. She may just have one too. She's been following a series of footsteps for a while now. Snap! Natalie whips her head in the direction of the sound. Snap! Snap! Two more. She smiles widely as she strings up an arrow. A blur of red catches her attention. There! She lets the arrow fly and the thud 5 seconds later confirms a hit. Unable to control her excitement, she rushes over to the body. "Om my god..." she mutters realizing who she had hit. Cecily. The cannon sounds signaling the older girls death. Natalie pulled her arrow out of her neck and once again notched the arrow preparing for anyone else. Noone. Well, today might not be so bad after all.

Kaleb simply raised an eyebrow at the sound of the cannon. Who could that be? Seems everyone is all of a sudden dropping like flies. It really annoys him. Mostly because he should be out there getting the kills. Fighting for the chance to go home. To see Delilah again. His thoughts are interrupted by an annoying buzzing sound. "Not again..." he complains swatting at the mosquitos. They have been bugging him non-stop. "I hate the freaking woods." he mutters getting up and moving. Seriously the things are more annoying than flies in the summer. Well, all bugs for that matter. To top it all off the sun is setting again. What is up with the game makers and time? Honestly. Its quite annoying. Like really annoying. Must everything be annoying?

Once a freaking gain it was night time. Sia muttered all kinds of profanity at the game makers for messing with it. Honestly its pitch black out. What are they gonna do, make no daylight at all? That's extremely boring. The anthem blares out causing her to stumble slightly. Wasn't expecting that to happen. The seal appears followed by Kai's face. Her breath catches. "I'm so sorry Kai..." she whispers to herself. Then its Cecily's photo. Sia shrugs that one off. The girl meant nothing to her. Nothing at all. Sia clears a little space in the dirt and spreads out her sleeping bag. she wriggles her way into it and lays her head down. She closes her eyes slowly and lets Kai's face cloud her dreams.

**RIP Kai and Cecily.**

**Kai- I'm going to miss him :(. I literally cried while I wrote this. **

**Cecily- I also really enjoyed this character. :( I cried again.**

**Ugh again its so shortttttttt. Ugh. I got a headache during it so that really didn't help. Anyway, I don't own the song "Coming Home". So yeah, please review!**

**P.S. your final 6!**

**Natalie Warner**

**Sia Delaria**

**Kaleb Tides**

**Towner Hills**

**Lily Moore**

**Maria Kingston**

**~Kendyl~**


	22. Beauty Has a Price

**Ok, so school is officially back in session :(. So again with not updating as often. Please bear with me! Thank you all and review!**

* * *

"Ugh" Natalie groans bringing the blanket back to its original state. Every time she falls asleep, the blanket never stays where it was in the first place. Its super annoying. Though there is one other thing that is also extremely annoying. Her mentor. God that woman drives her crazy. As an example, Natalie is sitting here starving and her mentor doesn't send her food. Oh no, she sends her notes. Notes. They don't even make sense! One even read, "hfbrvgukfdbs." Now, if you could tell her what that meant she would be eternally grateful. No guesses? That's what I thought. So in a nut shell she's sitting in a clearing, dying of hunger, and she has a psycho mentor sending her freakish notes. Wonderful. To add to her oh-so-pleasant mood, there seems to be about a million mutts running around. She's starting to regret volunteering. Oh yes, very much so. This retarded place with its all day nights and stupid mutts. One hour of daylight. That's all they get! God the gamemakers are stupid. Perhaps they were hanging out with her mentor? She snickers at the thought. Amethyst? Gamemakers? That's an interesting combination. God her thoughts are all over the place. She's like a squirrel! "Ugh." she says in frustration kicking the nearby tree. Not exactly a smart move. She's pretty sure she just broke her toe. "That was smart." she scolds herself removing her boot to examine her toe. She peels off her extremely sweaty sock making a disgusted face as she does. It stays there as she sees her toe. Its already swollen. "Perfect." she mutters under her breath putting her sock and boot back on. Then there's the all too familiar sound of a growl. "Seriously?" she mutters stringing an arrow and whipping around to face the mutts. A whole pack of them. "Shit." she says flatly taking aim at the first one. The arrow pierces its neck and it falls over dead. The rest of them pounce. Throwing her bow to the side, she quickly grabs an arrow and stabs the closest one. Then the next one. Then the next one. Then finally the _last_ one. She lets out a sigh of relief and looks for her bow. She just scoops it up when something hits her full force. So being Natalie, she screams. She must have missed a mutt, because low and behold here sits one on top of her. It bites into her stomach. She screams in pain and hits it upside the head with her bow. It staggers back giving her a window of opportunity to stand up. As she does, a wave of nausea falls over her and she tries to steady herself. The mutt sits back on its haunches. Warning bells go off inside of Natalie's head and she pulls out the arrow and leaps onto the creature. She stabs it in the neck again and again and again until it finally falls over dead. Panting hard, she immediately falls to the ground clutching her stomach. She peels off her outer shirt and gags. The bite is deep. _Really_ deep. She grabs for her bag securing a grip on one of the straps. She drags it over to her side. She slowly digs threw finally producing her water bottle. She wets the corner of her shirt and lightly dabs at the blood. Its still bleeding though. She then presses the shirt to her wound and sets her head back on the tree. "Nice going Natalie." she thinks to herself. "Your dying brainless."

Maria's eyes shoot open at the sound of screaming. No doubt a mutt attack. Those things seem to be multiplying. I guess it's a good thing though. She counts on her fingers whose left. Natalie, Sia, Kaleb, Towner, Lily, and her. Six of them left. Maybe the mutts aren't so bad. Perhaps they could be her key to winning. Perhaps. She shimmies out of the cave and like always its dark out. Like always. She adjusts her knife belt and pulls one out. She listens. The sound of the anthem makes her jump out of her skin. Trevor Templesmith's voice fills the air. "Hello to the remaining tributes. I am pleased to announce that there will be a feast taking place in the next three hours. As always, the feast will be held at the Cornucopia. Good luck and May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!" the anthem stops abruptly and she exhales. She didn't realize she was holding her breath. A feast? To go or not to go? Ah, what the hell! She's going. Three hours though? She's not a very patient person. Then she has an idea. She slings her pack over her shoulder and starts down the path. The cornucopia really isn't that far from where the cave is so she estimates she'll get there within an hour. Giving her a little less than two hours to finalize her plan. Oh sweet joy what has she gotten herself into? She laughs in spite of herself. This is crazy! A feast? Everyone there is going to be stronger than her! Though she could use her slight stealth. Honestly she had no idea she could be so stealthy until she was following Chesh, the queen of stealth. It was also because of her smarts that she was able to kill Chesh in the first place. Smarts and stealth. Smarts and stealth. The words rattle in her brain. Her foot then catches on something and she falls forward. Without thinking, her hands shoot out to brace the fall. Good god when did she become so dang klutzy? For about the sixth time in the last three days, she stands up and brushes herself off. She takes a deep breath and straightens her knife belt. Let's try this again shall we? She takes long, even strides carefully placing her feet. She really doesn't want her mentor sending her another dang ice-pack. So two hours later, she finally catches the golden gleam of the cornucopia. She exhales slightly, then whips around to check if she is alone or not. Noone. Smiling slightly, she slowly creeps out into the open and towards the cornucopia. Noone still. I mean there is still an hour but come on! Someone has to be wanting whatever is going to be at this feast. Really? With a shrug of her shoulders, she jogs across the field to the side of the cornucopia. She flings her bag to the top and climbs up it with ease. Huh. Where'd her all-of-a sudden climbing skills come from? Who knows. She plops down next to her pack and leans back relaxing. Now to play the waiting game.

Kaleb's face broke out into the biggest smile after hearing about the feast. Ever since the pack had broken up he had been a little short on food. Mostly because his district partner was the favorite. Not him. So he quickly gathers up the little supplies he has and sets off. Sia and him ran so far back its hard telling where he is. The plan had been simple, either him or Sia would take guard, wake the other up, put supplies in reach of the ones they wanted alive, and kill the one they couldn't stand. Noone could really stand Stephen. Kai was cool, and Natalie, well she was ok. He carelessly bounded through the forest not caring who heard him. I mean, you would be stupid enough to come out and attack the largest career? How 'bout the mutts Kaleb? Ever think of them? Uh no. God he is an idiot. Wow. He then focuses his attention to the path he's currently traveling on. He whistles some tune absently trying to figure how long he has been walking. An hour? An hour and a half? The arena its self didn't help. Stupid freaking gamemakers. Messing with the sunlight. What's up with that? He shakes his head slightly letting the thoughts get out. This arena seems to be toying with his imagination. Two hours now? That seems right. Right? "What the?" he says momentarily blinded by something. A gleam off the cornucopia. Wait... the cornucopia! Without thinking much about it, he sprints full force towards it. Only to be thrown backwards. A gust of wind suddenly hits him as does the sound. A humming. The hovercraft! Really? It had been 3 hours? Wow, he was time disoriented. He watches as the hover craft sends down a silver table. Then, five bags fall onto it. Way to be neat Capitol. With a blink of an eye, the hovercraft disappears from sight. Wasting no time, he sprints to the table. Then there's the feel of something hitting the back of his head and everything goes black.

Towner watches from afar as Maria hits Kaleb in the back of his head with her pack. Geez how much does that thing weigh? To Towner's surprise, she doesn't kill him. Oh no, she takes his pack along with hers and sprints away from the scene. Huh. Seeing as how Maria didn't take her pack, she might as well go for it. She sprints out of the shadows focusing in on the pack with the number 4. She reaches the table in no time, and scoops up the pack. Her hair flies forward at the sudden stop, then comes to a rest in front of her shoulders. Her once honey blond locks now take on a more dirt like color. She scowls at the strands. She loved her hair. Loved. She sighs and slings the pack securely over her left shoulder. The she notices the spear. Its gone. "Come on!" she yells out in frustration whipping around trying to locate it. There. Not even 20 feet away. Really Towner? Couldn't see that? She rolls her eyes at herself and strides the 20 feet to the spear. She picks it up and holds it firmly in her hand. "Let's try this again shall we?" she says walking back to the table. Noone else is coming? She shrugs her shoulders and takes the packs marked 1 and 7. Turning on her heel, she runs back into the safety of the forest. She's learned to like the woods. Its not as great as say... the ocean but it feels like a second home to her. As homey as you could get in the games. Perhaps it's the normalness of waking up here each day or the fact that its probably her death place but she's somewhat relaxed here. What was it her mentor told her? "If you can make it your home you might see home again." was that it? Yes. A smile tugs at the corner of her lips. She always liked her mentor, Mags. She was a sweet early thirty's aged woman. She had won the 10th games by deceiving all her competitors and killing them in their sleep. If you could be sweet in loving after that, then her hats off to you. She stops to catch her breath. All day she has been running. Whether it be from mutts, randomly placed tracer jacker nests, or even animals she thought were tributes. She just ran. No killing. Just running. Running.

"Damn." Sia mutters looking at the now empty table. Apparently Kaleb must have taken the pack. Great. She sighs heavily and begins to walk back the way she came. All that walking for nothing. Nothing! She stomps around for a while like a three year old that didn't get their way until she hears something. Moaning. She rushes around a corner then sees her. Natalie. "Natalie!" she calls to her former ally. The girl turns her head slightly just enough to see her. In this moment Sia see the chunk of flesh missing from Natalie's stomach. Her hands go over her mouth and her eyes go wide in shock. The once absolutely stunning girl now looks like a train wreck. Her face and hair is a mixture of dirt and blood, while of course her stomach seems to be killing her slowly. Her outer shirt is now completely red from soaking up the blood. She kneels down beside herd gingerly removes the shirt from the wound. Natalie winces as she does so. Its really deep. Too deep. "Het Nat, I don;t think we'll be able to stitch this up..." she trails off meeting the others eyes. The emeralds where her eyes should be say it all. "Just kill me." Her voicce gets stern. "No. I can't. I won't" She tells her fiercely. Natalie shakes her head. "Win Sia." she chokes out. She blinks. She's going to have to kill her. This is not good. She takes a deep breath and pulls out one of her knives. "Goodbye Natalie." she whispers. Natalie gives her a final small smile, and she stabs the knife straight through her throat.

The cannon startles Lily to no end. 5 left. One more step closer to winning. It could be 7's year! She smiles brightly not even acknowledging the fact someone would never see their family again. She instead threw her self into a oblivion and continued on with her day/night. She trapped, ate, climbed, ran around, set traps, swung her axe at random trees, and of course thought of home. Oh sweet home. How she loves it s- the anthem blares out. The seal then appears followed by the sexy smirk of Natalie. The seal is there again and the sky returns to its previous black state. Lily breathed. Just another career out of her way. For good.

* * *

**RIP Natalie.**

**Natalie- she was by far the most entertaining person to write about. I cried so much writing this.**

**Its finally an update! Sorry I was MIA for a while, its just ... school. So expect an update this weekend! Anyway, if you have any questions feel free to PM** **me.**

**So Catching Fire... casting is all done I do believe... so what does everyone think of the choices? Personally I love Jena and Sam so everyone can stop hating on them. Their great! Also, thanks to the people that have stuck with this even if their tribute died! Love you guys!**

**Make sure you read the next couple of authors note because I'll be putting some important things in there. As always review please!**

**~Kendyl~**

**P.s. If you haven't already please vote on the poll!**


	23. Change

**Howdy Ya'll! Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! Ok so I have a art request out for Natalie, and some one is drawing her! I'll** **post the link to it on my profile when their done! Anyway, R&R please!**

Towner watches as the Natalie's face disappears from the sky. Five more left. Could she win it? The odds have actually been in her favor. Yes, she could win it. She could see the crystal clear water, the golden sand, and her families smiling faces. They were so close! She still had 4 other people in her way though. She can't forget this. She closes her eyes. Time to sleep.

Her eyes flicker open and are met with sunlight. Sunlight! She jumps up, letting its rays warm her. The effect is immediate. If she closes her eyes, she could almost imagine she's standing by the beach in four. Almost. Her eyes open to the cruel reality that is the Hunger Games. She sighs. It may have been only two weeks but it feels like a life time. A lifetime ago, she was reaped. A lifetime ago, she got on a train and was escorted to the Capitol. A lifetime ago, her plate rose and she got her first kill. Was that even her? She feels so much different from that girl. That girl was afraid of the arena. She isn't anymore. That girl didn't think she could win. She thinks she can. That girl said she wouldn't kill. She's killed twice. She wants to slap herself. She let them change her. She's lost Towner Hills, now its just Towner. The girl fighting for her life in the arena. She honestly misses Towner Hills. The girl who would smile at complete strangers, blush every time Coron smiled at her, laugh every time Twila made her pouty face, and of course, beam proudly every time she sold something. She missed that girl, but she was long gone. So, she has to forget her and become what she is now. A piece on the Capitol's game board.

Kaleb's head is still throbbing from the hit he took yesterday. He woke up and saw that all the bags were gone. It was a miracle noone killed him. To be honest, he felt pretty stupid. He was the only boy left in the arena and the numbers were dwindling. No way he was going to lose to a bunch of girls. He _needs_ to see Delilah again. That's the only thing that has really kept him going. The only thing. Anyway, upon realizing that if he stayed there he would probably be killed, he bolted. So now he walks across a wide opening full of poison ivy. He resists every temptation to scratch at the itch. The only reason he's even walking through this stuff is because he's looking for someone to kill. This means looking in the most bizarre of places. Poison ivy clearing. Get it? Hope that explains it. He whistles absently looking high and low. You never know where they may be hiding. Clang! For the second time in two days he's hit from behind. He falls to the ground clutching his head. "Good god. Stop hitting me!" he yells at the unknown attacker. Well lookie there, its Lily. She looks like crap. She has random cuts and scratches littered over her bare skin, her hair is matted to no end, and she has a look in her eyes like an angry predator. Wait... he's the prey. His eyes widen with realization and he freezes. A wicked smile appears on her face. Then she does the unexpected. She runs the way she came. Without hesitation, he follows her. Big mistake. Two minutes later, he winds up trapped in a net. Well this is convenient. She smiles sweetly. "Why hello Kaleb! Fancy seeing you here." she says cocking her head to the side. He gives her a genuine smile. "Why yes Lily, it is such an honor to be in _your_ presence." he says mocking her head cock. Her smile gets the edge of wickedness back in it. "That's sweet. Any last words?" she asks picking something of the edge of her axe. "Why yes, I do. This may take some time though." "Take it. Its not like your going anywhere." she says gesturing to the net. He actually cracks a smile at that. "First off, I would like to say, I'll see you in hell dad, second, goodbye Delilah. I will always love you. Last off, I'd like to say to you Lily, I hope Sia murders you." he says staring her dead in the eye. She narrows hers. "Your just asking to be brutally killed." she spits. He smirks and winks at her. "Always." he says. She scoffs. "You done?" she asks regretting him say goodbye in the first place. "Yep." he says smiling like an idiot. She rolls her eyes at him and lifts her axe above her head. "No!" a panicked voice calls from the rows of trees. Without knowing it, Lily swings the axe downwards and it buries its self deep into Kaleb's chest.

**Delilah Snow's POV **

She sits motionless as her fiance's cannon fires. Her face is void of emotion. Her mouth is a straight line, her eyes are focused forward, and she doesn't move. Her mother eyes her from the chair across the room. Without a sound or a word, she gets up and walks into the kitchen. Worried, her mother follows her. Not a single tear has been shed. Delilah picks up a long, kitchen knife and positions it on her heart. Her mother walks in and stops short. "Delilah..." her mother begins her voice on edge. She looks her mother in the eye. "Goodbye mother." she says flatly and stabs the knife into her heart. Her mother screams and runs across the kitchen catching her daughter as she falls. Her lifeless body stares up at her mother as she sobs uncontrollably. Her mother slowly closes Delilah's eyes and rests her body on the floor. She puts her face in her hands and continues to cry. The front door opens and shuts as Delilah's father walks into the kitchen. His eyes widen as he sees his dead daughter lying in a pool of her own blood and his wife crying her eyes out. The couple find each others eyes and her's say everything he needs to know. He walks the few steps and crouches down next to his wife. He puts his arms around her shoulders and she sobs into the crook of his neck. He stares mindlessly at what was once his loving daughter. Did she really love him that much?

**Meanwhile in the games...**

Sia watched as Lily bolted in the opposite direction. The final four huh? Well Lily, you better watch out. Seeing as how she can't really do anything for Kaleb anymore, she walked away. She can't believe it. Kaleb? Dead? No. She can't be alone. No. She can't hold District 2's win on her shoulders. Never. Lily going to pay hell for that. Sia's mind is set on that. She walked across the narrow path making sure to make her face look like a clean slate. She had her head down and her mouth was set in a permanent frown. Closeness. Its something she never felt until these games. "Its not fair!" she screams kicking a tree. "Why does anyone I care for die?" she yells some more kicking a different tree. Why does she care about these people? She shouldn't. She knew they would have to die if she were to win. Everyone would. Now its clear to her she's going to win. It wasn't about the fame and fortune anymore, no it was about revenge. Surviving against the odds. Then something hits her. She stops short. These games have changed her. Strangely, for the better. They made her realize what she is. Human. They all are. All four of them left. All 20 that died. Human.

Maria slightly smiled after hearing the cannon. She had done it. She had made it to the final four! She half wonders who died. Not that it really mattered. I mean they all have to die anyway. The order she could care less about. She slipped out of the cave and almost fell over. Its light out! Holy crap! It's a miracle! She spun in circles with her arms raised above her head. She might look like she's five but hey, sunlight's nice. At least you could see the mutts before they attacked you. That's even nicer. You'd think the gamemakers would call them off, but nooo they can't do that. Why? Then they would actually have to fight each other. Gasp! Sin! She rolls her eyes. Why would they put mutts in the arena? Kids brutally murdering each other isn't good enough for you? Wow. The Capitol is just down right stupid. Nothing more to it. She kicks a stone off the path. Could today get any more boring? No. Then she feels pain. A lot of it. In her right ankle. She turns around slowly only to see a mutt. She screams and kicks it in the face with her good foot. It sprawls backwards then, regaining its balance, jumps on her. She screams, and tries to grab her knife that has fallen out of her belt. There. She grabs it and sticks it into the side of its neck. It dies. She removes the knife then feels a pain in her stomach. Then her legs. Then her arm. Her throat is dry from the screaming and she falls backwards again. The mutts bite and bite and bite. She desperately tries to stab them but its no use. She's just about dead. Then she feels some weight removed. She cranes her head to see a mutt on its side with a spear hanging out of its stomach. She turns her head to the other side. Towner. "He-l-l-lp" she chokes out. Towner jumps slightly thinking the dying girl couldn't speak. However, Towner's eyes flit back to the mutts. She pulls out her second spear and charges the remaining two. On her way she yanks her other spear out of the dead mutts body. With a simple release, the other mutts die in seconds. Towner breathes then rushes to Maria's side. Maria's eyes are far off, as if admiring something in the distance. Towner holds her hand and squeezes it slightly. The blood covered girl looks Towner straight in the eye and offers a small smile. "Thanks." Maria says quietly. Towner gives her a small smile. "Your welcome." "Am I dying?" Maria asks her. Towner frowns. "Yes, your dying." she says quickly. Maria nods. "Towner, you need to win. You're the only one that deserves it." Maria says sternly but breaks at the end. "I will Maria. I will." she promises not taking her eyes off the girl. Maria takes her last nod an closes her eyes. Then takes her last breath. The cannon booms. Three left.

As soon as the cannon booms the anthem starts. Lily looks up in surprise. She knows she'll see Kaleb's face but the others a mystery. The seal appears then Kaleb's face. Then Maria's. the seal again, then blank. Lily blinks. Maria was ok, I guess. At least she was a lower district. She wasn't some career. She was in a way just like her. Though, I'm sure she wasn't a monster. I guess she was one though. Lily that is.

**RIP Kaleb and Maria.**

**Kaleb- I actually quite enjoyed writing about this guy. I loved him and Delilah!**

**Maria- I loved her! She was one of my favorites. I cried writing both parts though.**

**Background on the kills: Kaleb- I had the idea for Delilah to kill herself the whole time. I had been waiting to write that for foreverrrr. Finally!**

**Maria- If you can remember back to training, Towner said she would love to have Maria as an ally, hence why I had Towner try and save Maria. Get it?**

**So! For those of you that are wondering, yes. There will be a 24****th**** games! (The victor from this one will be featured in that one at some point XD) Get excited! **

**I also beg of you to stick with the story even if your tribute dies! I mean, don't you want to see who wins? So please stick with it!**

**Chapters left: 4. That's all people. One chapter after this one then the victor chapter. Then final interview and Recap. Then epilogue/victory tour. There you are people!**

**I think I am done. So as always please review!**

**~Kendyl~**


	24. Blood Can Be Spilled So Easily

**Hi! Sorry for long time no update but, I've been really busy. *coughschoolcough* anyway, poll results next chapter, one death in this one, and victor announced in the following chapter! So, there you go. Please review!**

**~Kendyl~**

The sound of a snapping branch is what ultimately made Towner spring up and take off. At first it was just a few leaf crunches. Then came the snapping twigs. Next, the combination of both. Lastly of course, was the snapping branch. Whatever or whoever it was could only be one thing. No good. They won't hesitate to kill either. Not with three people left in the games. No room for mercy. Only victory. So, in this stage running for her life seems like a great idea. Towner stumbles blindly through the maze of trees hitting one occasionally. "Stupid forest." she grumbles wiping her hands free of the tree's debris. She slows her pace to a jog. Then she stops and listens. The tweet of a bird, the rustle of leaves from the wind, and the sound of the statics stillness. She's alone. Sighing with relief, she sits down on the forest's floor. She opens her bag and begins searching through it trying to locate her water bottle. There. Her hand closes around it and she tugs it out. Quickly, she flips open the top and chugs half of it down. She flicks it shut and throws it into her bag. She zips her pack up as she stands up slinging it over her shoulder. She continued walking across the leaves. The sun never went down anymore. It was almost as annoying as the night. Though the temperature never seemed to change. Which was weird she thought. Sure the sun could build up a sweat but it was nothing compared to what it should be. They should be frying but its still the cool and average weather. Then again, this was the gamemakers doings. They had complained about the night now they get day. If she spoke her thoughts out loud they would be nice and crispy. So she kept her mouth shut and her eyes peeled. Shade would be nice, since she knows she has a wicked sunburn. Not that she hasn't had to deal with sunburn before, it was as common as fish in 4, it was the fact that she didn't want to deal with a major headache that always seemed to follow. She caught her break. A cluster of trees just of the "path" cast a nice shadow. She smiled slightly, then started to make her way through the foliage. It was denser than she had imagined. But, she made it to the shade spot. She dropped her pack on the ground then plopped herself down next to it. She unzipped it quickly, and took out her sleeping bag. She unrolled it, and then spread it out across the shaded part. She zipped her pack back up, and crawled to the top of the sleeping bag and slipped inside. It actually shocked her how cool the bag was. She expected it to be relatively warm. Not that she was complaining. She let her eyelids droop, and gave in to sleep as it clawed at her every nerve.

Sia was not yet down with her string of curses. She had been so close to killing that girl, which ever one it was, and she let the girl slip through her fingers. Sure she wasn't the quietest person on the planet, but she had barely made any noise! This game seemed to get more frustrating by the minute. I mean come on, she's never going to find anyone again. They're going to have to find her. Which means that honestly only the gamemakers can bring them together. They have plenty of ways to do that. She's watched the hunger games enough to know that. They already used the mutts which got Maria. Girl screams were defiantly not Kaleb's. She'd seen him die too. Another obvious hint to the mutt's kill. Forgetting about the deaths, she trudged ahead. It was safe to say she had no idea where she was at. For all she knew there could be a cliff just behind the tree line. It was quite possible. She realized she was kind of scrambled and decided to take a break. She ended up finding a few scattered rocks and plopping down on one. She kicked up her feet and rested them on a nearby rock. Not knowing what else to do, she examined her boots. The brown material was scuffed from days of running and kicking things out of the way. They were really dirty and the soles seemed to be falling apart. The slight wedge on her heels used for traction were worn down flat. She sighed and moved up her body. To her pants. The khaki colored things were torn to shreds. Where the cuffs had been now is frayed and cut off. One of her thigh pockets was ripped and the other missing. The seams were falling apart at the top, so much so she could she her undergarments. Self consciously she pulled the down a bit. She gazed down at her shirt. It was a maroon colored tee and had several holes popping up in random places. She sighs heavily. Its been what? A week and a half? Two weeks? Three of them left. All girls mind you. Thinking back to the ones she had seen, Sia thought that this had never happened before. She felt a strange sense of pride well up in her. She has at least accomplished _something_. That's more than some victors in her district could say. Oh, and they had victors. The current standings had her district with the most victors closely followed by 1. Then came 4. Though, this was to be expected. Those districts were careers. Meaning more victors. Although, there had been a few victors from these districts whom were not careers in their games. Rather part of a smaller alliance with the outlying districts. Like Mags, from district 4. She realized she had been tugging on a strand of hair and stooped and stared at it. It was a black as before, being as dark as midnight, it had its wavy element to it as it always did, and she realized it was matted with dirt and other things. There might have been some blood too. She really couldn't tell. The loud thud snapped her from her trance, and before she even knew what she was doing, she had her pack over her shoulder and was sprinting the opposite direction of the noise.

Lily cursed. She had been so close! To killing that stupid girl from 2! She was beginning to hate the forest. Freaking sticks snapping. Her natural clumsiness. This was starting to tick her right off. She wanted her bittersweet revenge. She wanted to be the favorite. She deserved to be the favorite. She had worked so hard for this kill with no emotion angle and she was starting to let it take her over. All the anger she had ever felt towards anyone had been blown up to the breaking part in these games and she needed to release it. Strange enough, killing people had gave her her bittersweet happiness. Drake's death reminded her of her humanity. Cecily's too. But they're dead now just like they should be so she can win. So she can see Liv and Peter and hold them close and not let a thing in the world hurt them. Though she knew it was pointless. Peter could be reaped and in a short period of time, Liv too. Her protectiveness was threatening to eat her alive and she knew in that moment she had to win. She had to see them again. She was Lily Marie Moore and she would be the victor of the 23rd annual Hunger Games.

Towner had been tracking Sia for a mile now. She had seen the girl bounce up like a rabbit and cut way to close to Towner's liking. But hey, she might not get another opportunity to take the skilled girl out. She pulled on her messy ponytail strengthning its hold. Short strands of the honey colored things had feel out and were sticking to her sweaty face. Sia ran again. She huffed and creeped along after her. Sia stopped a short time later. The girl held her knees and breathed heavy as she tried to catch her breath. Now was Towner's chance. She sprang from her hiding spot catching Sia completely off guard. But only for a moment. Before Towner could even release her spear Sia already had a knife drawn and it was whizzing through the air straight at her. She ducked at the last second and it missed her by inches. Towner heard Sia swear and she jerked her body up and through her spear. It imbedded its self into Sia's right shoulder. The girl cursed again and so did Towner. She had forgotten Sia was left-handed. Sia yanked the spear out and tossed it to the side. She then preceded to tackle Towner. She fell on her back hard and struggled to gain the upper hand. Not that it mattered, she was weaponless. She finally found her self on top and pinned Sia's arms down. For five seconds. Sia through her off of herself and pinned her down. She pulled out her last knife and stabbed downwards. Towner caught it just as it came down and began to turn it back on her. Sia struggled against Towner's strength. It actually surprised her. Towner drew her legs to her chest and pushes with all her might. Sia flew backwards and landed with a painful thud a few feet away. The taste of blood filled Towner's mouth and her ears were ringing. She crawled slowly over to Sia's discarded knife and scooped it up. Somehow she managed to stand up and close the space between Sia and herself. She stood over the her and raised the knife above her head. Sia laughed softly. "Nice reflexes. They might come in handy.' she whispered to her soon to be killer. "You deserve to win." she finished meeting Towner's eyes. The bright green orbs stared back at her and twinkled with strained amusement. "I was planning on doing so.' she said as she brought the knife down on Sia's throat. Warm blood sprayed her face as district 2's final competitor died.

The cannon startled Lily. Two of them left? Was she dreaming? No. No she was not. One person stood between her and her siblings. Her face broke out into a wide grin as the anthem filled the still air. The ever recognizable seal lit up the sky closely followed by the sly smile of Sia Delaria. The gray and worn seal appeared again and the familiar blue sky greeted her at the end. Tomorrow these games would be over. That's fact. No way around it. She had one more day of living or Towner did. This was the only sure thing in these games. You know what? That was enough for her. Her mind was now set on Towner's death. Lily's axe being embedded in her skull. A pool of blood surrounding the once living girl. It was strangely a semi-happy thought. Something she could look forward to. A goal.

**RIP Sia.**

**Sia- This girl was so fun to develop and was fairly easy to like. Defiantly one of my favorites.**

**So hey guys! Miss me? I missed you guys! You guys are totally awesome.**

**Tumblr time! Anyone got one? If so check me out :) clato4ever74**

**Love reviews almost as much as I love you! **

**~kendyl~**


	25. A Victor Will Be Chosen

**Hello to you my amazing readers! I love you guys. Guess what time it is? Shout out time! Ok, so go read JoshuaEvans123's** **story, Life Of the Party. K? He's the creator of Kaleb by the way ;). For-warning you this chapter might be short, since there's only two left. Towner vs. Lily! Let's do this thing!**

Towner sits over the tiny cake her mentor sent her. "Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. Happy birthday dear myself, happy birthday to me!" she sings and lifts her head up. The minute the sun hits her face it gives a slight sting of pain. The heat is quickly getting unbearable. She turns her attention back to the cake. Its small, round, and quite plain. Yellow cake with a thin layer of vanilla frosting. A tiny amount of sprinkles also made an appearance. The colors of the miniature sugar specks were a rainbow of wonderment. She had only ever seen sprinkles of the Capitol's ads on the television. She had only ever had any kind of cake at a wedding an even then it was half a slice. Somehow it felt wrong for her to eat the cake. On the other hand, she was starving. In the end, she shoved the dessert into her mouth. A bit of frosting found its way into her honey locks but she ignored it. The cake was the best thing she had consumed in a very long time. She dusts off her hands letting the crumbs fall freely to the ground. She was eighteen. A big milestone to most. It meant your last year of reaping, it meant your last tie. After that, you were as free as a bird. Though obviously she had not been as lucky. Then again, she had. She was still alive wasn't she? Final two to be exact. That has to count for something. She thought about that word. Luck. By a luck of a draw she was in here. By her luck of fishing knowledge she received a nine. By the luck of others preoccupation she made it past the bloodbath. By luck she made it to the final ten, then eight, then six, then four, and now two. She, Towner Hills, was a lucky girl. Now, however is where she knew her luck would run out.

Lily was waiting patiently for the disaster that would lead Towner and herself together for the final fight. Would it be those mutts? A fire? Earthquake? There were so many possibilities it hurt her brain to think of all of them. She shakes her thoughts out of her mind and goes back to sharpening her axe. She mentally counts each swipe as she hits the blade with the rock. _Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eigh-. _Her counting is interrupted by an abrupt beep. She immediately looks up and smirks. Her thoughts were confirmed. A parachute. Greedily, she springs upwards and clasps the wrapped up item in her hand. Before even opening it she knows what it is. A hatchet. She looks at her axe. Its bulky and huge, meant for fighting, but the hatchet is way smaller and is meant for a back-up. "Or a surprise." she whispers to herself. She throws the wrapping behind a bush and settles back down on her rock. She picks up the axe and sharpening rock and lays them on her pack beside her. She examines the hatchet more closely. Its obviously silver, as most weapons in the game are, with a leather bound handle. Other than that its pretty much plain. Boring. She shrugs and stands up. She carefully pulls the back of her shirt up and sticks the handle down her pants slightly. She pulls her shirt back down with the same precaution. She breathes and then squirms. The hatchet gives a little pinch but it doesn't cut her. Which is good, considering she'll be doing a lot of squirming when her and Towner face off. Speaking of which, she should go back to thinking of possibilities.

"Jesus. Another one?" she asks to no one in particular. Towner narrows her eyes and the overly large snake. Five of its "buddies" had already made their appearance. She had never been afraid of snakes honestly, not like most of the other brain-dead girls in her district. They never bothered her so she never bothered them. An alliance with snakes. Oh yes, she was never alone. She laughs at her own sarcasm seeing as how no one else is here to do it. She steps forward and jabs at the snake. It hisses and lunges forward, its teeth poised to sink into her. She rolls her eyes and side steps the thing and drives the spear into its side. It hisses as it goes down, but finally dies. She sighs. Now what? She whistles as she scans the area. Trees. She studies them. Brown trunk, green leaves. Same as always. She scowls at herself. Why on earth would they change? She blinks. Is she arguing with herself over, trees? Yes, yes she is. She takes a deep breath and looks away from the things. "Let's not show Panem your quite insane yet, ok Towner?" She says to herself. They better do something to drive the two of them together quick, or she might lose it. This place has rubbed her the wrong way. She laughs. Hasn't it rubbed everyone the wrong way? She'd imagine so. She whistles again. She suddenly realizes she's been whistling some old sea chant. Vaguely, in the back of her mind, the words are there. She pulls them up to the front and recites them to the best of her ability.

"Look ahead, look a stern,

Look the weather in the lee,

_Blow high! Blow low! And so sailed we._

I see a wreck to the windward

And a lofty ship to lee,

_A sailing down all on_

_The coasts of High Barbary"_

She breathesfor a moment. She racks her brain for the rest of the lyrics but they escape her. She sighs. She bets her mother knows the whole thing. If only she could see her mother again. She scowls at herself once more. No, she was going to see her mother and that was final. Along with the rest of her family. No girl from district seven is going to take that away from her. If the other tries, well, they're going to fail.

His screams vibrate through her ears. Peter screaming for her help. If only she could find him! She races through the forest, her hands pushing off whatever they happen to land on. The screaming becomes to much. She falls to the ground clutching at her ears. The screams finally uncovers her ears nervously and glances around. No more screaming. She shakily stands up and continues in the direction she was heading. "Lily help me!" the plead echoes through the arena. "I'm coming Liv!"she shouts taking off down the path. Bright light hits her at full force and she stumbles back. The clearing. She catches the all familiar glint of the sun hitting the cornucopia. Standing right by it? Towner.

Towner stares at Lily in disbelief. Its time for the final showdown. She quickly wiped off her look of surprise and narrowed her eyes at Lily. Lily returned the gesture. "Towner." she sneers walking forward so they are only five feet apart. "Lily." Towner sneers right back. Lily smirks. "Well, seems as if you think you can actually win this thing." Lily says folding her arms in front of her chest. "Yep. Your sure as hell not going home." she spits back. Lily growls. "Enough!Let's get this over with shall we?" she asks raising her axe into a fighting position. Towner gives a sly smile and lunges at Lily. As she hoped, the sudden movement caught the other girl off her guard. Though Lily quickly regained her composure. She pushed Towner off of her and swung at her with her axe. It caught Towner in the arm. She grimaces in pain but presses her own attack. She jabs her spear at Lily's stomach but she moves at the last second scratching at her side. Lily lifts her foot as if she was going to stomp on Towner, but brings it crashing down on her spear. It snaps in half. Towner almost cries. That was her last one! She glares wickedly at Lily. What a bitch this girl turned out to be. "Aww. Gonna cry about your little spear Towner?" Lily asked her in baby-talk_. _"No. But your siblings are going to cry when I kill you." she spits back. Lily's eyes flash with anger and she snarls. "Wrong. Move." she grits between her teeth and throws the axe at Towner's head. She smirks and ducks, letting the thing sail harmlessly over her head. Lily stares at her in disbelief. "Time to play Lily." she says dangerously tackling her to the ground.

Lily struggles to get the hatchet. Finally, her fingers lock around the hilt and she pulls it in front of her. Towner's eyes widen with alarm but the look vanishes. Lily swings forward with the small weapon. Then something bizarre happens. Towner pushes her pack into Lily's face. The hatchet falls from her grip and thuds at her side. Towner kicks it away. She throws the pack to the side to. "Now what Towner?" she begins to ask. "We're both weaponless. So now what? You strangle me?" Mischieftwinkles in Towner's eyes. "We're _both_ weaponless?" she asks and Lily sees it. The silver glint of a knife. Its over. She's lost.

Lily begins to cry. "Peter! Liv! I'm so sorry! I tried! I really did!" she calls out in desperation. Towner hesitates. The crazed look in Lily's eyes is gone for a moment. But then its back and Towner's hesitationfades. This girl is _crazy_. Through and through. Towner presses the knife to Lily's neck. "Goodbye Lily. Its been in honor playing these games with you." Towner says finally. Lily's eyes find hers. "Tell them I loved them. Tell them that I want them to forgive you. Tell them to forgive me." she says sadly. Towner nods. "Ok. Anything else?" she asks the girl. Lily laughs bitterly. "Congratulations Towner. I guess you really deserved to win." she says shakily. "Careful now. You sound like a career." Towner says as she lifts the knife above her. "Bye now." Lily closes her eyes as Towner brings the knife down into her heart.

The sound of the cannon echoes through the arena. "Ladies and Gentlemen! The victor of the 23rd annual Hunger Games is, Miss Towner Hills!" the sound of cheering and applause is the last thing Towner hears as she slips into blackness. "I won." she whispers. "I won!" she repeats this time shouting it. She won.

**The victor, Miss Towner Hills!**

**RIP Lily.**

**Lily- I seriously loved this girl. She was headstrong and loving. **

**So there you have it! The winner!**

**xx The Final Stats****xx**

**Towner Hills- District 4**

**Kill count- 4**

**Tributes killed- George Van Loon, Sebastian Polar, Sia Delaria, and Lily Moore**

**Killed by- N/A**

* * *

**Natalie Warner- District 1**

**Kill count- 3**

**Tributes killed- Thomas Winter, Libra Jonea, and Cecily Rose**

**Killed by- Mutts injury, Kaleb killed her out of pity**

* * *

**Stephen Talcott- District 1**

**Kill count- 1**

**Tributes killed- Ariana Dixon**

**Killed by- Sia Delaria**

* * *

**Sia Delaria- District 2**

**Kill count- 2**

**Tributes killed- Scarlet Red and Stephen Talcott**

**Killed by- Towner Hills**

* * *

**Kaleb Tides- District 2**

**Kill count-2**

**Tributes killed- Natalie Warner and Natalya Parak**

**Killed by- Lily Moore**

* * *

**Leigha Marx- District 3**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Lily Moore**

* * *

**Sawyer 'Sparkie' Coleman- District 3**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Cecily Rose**

* * *

**Kai Rose- District 4**

**Kill count-2**

**Tributes killed- Fredrick Kennedy and Reiyn Tucker**

**Killed by- Lily Moore**

* * *

**Ariana Dixon- District 5**

**Kill count- 0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Stephen Talcott**

* * *

**Reiyn Tucker- District 5**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Kai Rose**

* * *

**Libra Jonea- District 6**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by**_- _**Natalie Warner**

* * *

**Sebastian Polar- District 6**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Towner Hills**

* * *

**Lily Moore- District 7**

**Kill count-4**

**Tributes killed- Scorpio Rider, Leigha Marx, Kai Rose, and Kaleb Tides**

**Killed by- Towner Hills**

* * *

**Drake Martin- District 7**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Nightlock**

* * *

**Maria Kingston- District 8**

**Kill count-2**

**Tributes killed- Chesh Shira and Kole Darwin**

**Killed by- Mutts**

* * *

**Scorpio Rider- District 8**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Lily Moore**

* * *

**Scarlet Red- District 9**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Natalie Warner**

* * *

**Kole Darwin- District 9**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Maria Kingston**

* * *

**Cecily Rose- District 10**

**Kill count-1**

**Tributes killed- Sawyer Coleman**

**Killed by- Natalie Warner**

* * *

**George Van Loon- District 10**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Stephen injures, Towner kills out of pity**

* * *

**Chesh Shira- District 11**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed-N/A**

**Killed by- Maria Kingston**

* * *

**Thomas Winter- District 11**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed-N/A**

**Killed by- Natalie Warner**

* * *

**Natalya Parak- District 12**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Kaleb Tides**

* * *

**Fredrick Kennedy- District 12**

**Kill count-0**

**Tributes killed- N/A**

**Killed by- Kai Rose**

* * *

**Kk Poll results!**

**Q: Now that we're down to the final nine, who would you like to win?**

**In first place, with 3 votes is... Towner, Lily, and****Maria!**

**In second place with 2 votes is... Stephen, Kaleb, Sia, and Kai!**

**In last place with no votes is... Cecily and Natalie**

**Guys! It is not over yet! Two more chapters! Also, if you would like, I am doing the 24****th**** games..., message me for more info!**

**~Kendyl~**


	26. New Beginnings

**Tralala. Hello people of earth! Sooo two more chapters of this fanfic then! THE 24****TH**** games! Ya! Anyway, this chapter is the recap and final interviews and going home probs. As always, please review!**

**~Kendyl~**

Towner pulls self-consciously on her dress. Its short, navy colored, and sparkles when the light hits. There would be lights. Towner wasn't awake at all when she was pulled into the hovercraft. She blacked out on the ladder. How charming that was. So, needless to say, she woke up in a bright white hospital room and was actually quite fine. Until she fell asleep. She killed Lily in various ways, watched Maria get torn to shreds, and imagined Kai's downfall. She was told Lily killed him. And three others. Just like her. Except the killing Kai part. She honestly doesn't understand why she was so upset about Kai, I mean, he was just Kai. Her district partner that had to die or she would have. She had to remember that. Besides, she killed Lily who killed him. In some people's eyes it could have been some type of revenge. Who knows.

"Are you ready Ladies and Gentlemen?" Gary Flickerman asks the crowd. His voice sounds like a whisper next to the sound of applause and shouts come after the question. "I'm going to take that as a yes! Let's bring her out! The victor of the 23rd annual Hunger Games, Miss Towner Hills!"

The crowd goes wild and she hop-steps her way to the interview chair. The sparkles the were once hidden over the top layer of shire fabric have made there appearance under the bright stage lights. She fakes a warm smile to them and convinces herself to wave. They eat it up. As she nears her chair, she pushes the skirt part of her dress under her and neatly places herself on the chair. She smooths out the non-existent wrinkles and push a spiral lock of hair out of her face.

Gary takes a sweeping look at the now eighteen year old. Her honey blond hair is pulled up into a knot, with a few strands hanging loose around her face. The strands are curled hinting at her simple elegance. She sits up as straight as possible, a diamond pendant strung around her neck. Her make-up was simple, light blues and cremes. She smiles without showing her teeth, showing of a clear gloss that coats her lips. She is remarkably stunning, if those could not see it before, they defiantly could see it now. He clears his throat. Time to start this thing.

"So Miss Hills, what was your first reaction to the arena once you were inside?" Gary asks her. She frowns. "I can honestly say I hated it. I mean a forest? Not my cup of tea." she says somewhat nonchalantly. Gary laughs shortly. "Ah yes. So that final fight. Its quite a buzz in the Capitol. Towner, tell us, what was it she was saying to you?" Towner smiled lightly. "That's information for her siblings, I'm afraid to anyone other than them, its classified." she says not blinking an eye. The crowd groans, obviously that's not the answer they wanted. Oh well. She smiles apologetically at the crowd, though she feels so need to apologize. These freaks threw her into an arena and forced her to kill those kids sister. Not her. None the less, she continues her act, of not being ready to scream her head off and curse everyone in the Capitol out. She straightens up and prepares for the next question. Gary smiles warmly. She doesn't return the smile. His drops. "So Towner, tell us, about your family."

She swallows the lump in her throat. Two more days Towner. Two more. She allows herself a thin smile. "Well, I'm sure you met most of them when you interviewed them when it was down to the final eight," she starts. "But there is of course more to them." She breathes. "There's Twila, my baby cousin, she's a little firecracker." she laughs a little. "My parents. We own, well I guesswe_ owned_ a shellfish stall in the market, so my dad works at the docks. My mom weaves nets. My twin brother, Tomas, helps out the stand, while our other brother, Gilland, helps dad fish." she exhales. "Then there's Coron. He's not actually family but still, he might as well be. He and I are the main ones running the stall." she lifts her eyes that she didn't know were down. Gary looks mildly impressed. He's getting more out of her here then he did in her original interview.

"Well Miss Hills, as much as it pains me to say it, we have run out of time," he turns towards the audience. "Make sure to tune in tonight to see Miss Hills crowning and the recap!" and with those words the stage lights dimmed and Towner rushed offstage to get re-prepared for tonights crowning.

Towner spinned once more in a semi-circle mesmerized by the movement of the dress. Despite its dull grey color it's the prettiest dress towner has ever seen. Shining white crystals line the dress, and when she spins it gives the illusion of falling snow on a harsh winter day. Four didn't necessarily have winter but still, the dress was amazing. Paired with see-through heels and a diamond headband, she looked fantastic. She felt a pressure on her shoulder and jerked around at the contact. Mags.

A wide smile appeared on Towner's face and Mags mirrored it. Mags was a slender woman, with long, flowing, brown hair. She had a splash of freckles on the tops of her cheeks, and beautiful green eyes. She was in her early thirties, having won the 10th games. Towner realized she was staring and cleared her throat. "Hey" she greeted lamely. Mags smile grew. "Hey" she said back jokingly. Towner giggles and rolls her eyes at her own stupidity. She focuses back on Mags. "Sooooo," she starts. "Any last minute advice?" she asks fiddling with a strand of curled hair. Mags places her hands on either of Towner's shoulders. "Smile, act un-fazed, and look the president in the eyes when he crowns you. You'll do this because your strong." Mags says. Towner meets her approving gaze. "No go. You'll do great." Mags says letting her hands to fall to her sides. With a final nod she exits the room and disappears down the hallway.

"I'm strong." she repeats to herself for what feels like the fiftieth time. She taps her feet nervously on the plate that will raise her into the freak show. There's a sudden jerk, and the plate begins to rise. She sucks in breath. The lights stream in lightly at first, then comes through more promptly. She brings her arms up to shield the light from her eyes. She drops her arms when she hears the cheers. The Capitol citizens are a wave of harsh bright colors mixed together in a horid arrangement. Towner beams at them however and does as she was instructed. Keeping her head high, she basically skips to the stage set up in the middle. She notices Mags out of the corner of her eye and nods. She twirls in a circle letting the dress take attention of her for a moment. The crowd's oohs and ahhs echo in her ears as she takes a seat opposite of Gary for the second time today.

"Hello again Miss Towner." Gary says to her as soon as the crowd quieted down. "Shall we watch the fabulous recap?" he asks. "We shall." she says twisting to face the screen. The seal is permanently etched into her mind at this point. The first thing that the screen shows is her and Kai's reaping. Her shocked face, and his cocky volunteering. She smiles at the boy at the screen. He still looks like a ghost to her. She flits her eyes away for a moment then brings them back. By now she's watching herself roll through the square in the chariot. That moment seems like years ago. Her training score flashes briefly on the screen then she's sitting there in her gorgeous interview dress. She seemed so young then, giggling and smiling. The screen fades, then she standing on the plate in the beginning of the games. She looks at the six faces she knows are going to die, one by her hand. The gong goes off, and there's Natalie shooting Libra through the neck, Lily fighting Scorpio for the axe, Stephen injuring George, Fredrick flipping off the Capitol and Kai killing him, Natalie shooting Thomas, Sia throwing a knife to end Scarlet, and Finally her, Spearing George to put him out of his misery. She didn't watch the careers kill Natalya, Or Ariana, she watched herself kill Sebastian, and watched Chesh and Maria kill Kole. She watched Leigha get axed, and she watched again in horror as Drake ate the nightlock. She saw Cecily lose her mind and kill Sawyer, and watched the same girl fall into depression. She watched Maria double-cross Chesh, and Kai kill Reiyn who went insane after Ariana's death. She felt the tears slide down her cheeks. She watched Stephen kiss Sia, she also watched Sia kill him. She witnessed Kai's death by axe-trap and natalie blind shooting hitting Cecily. She watched Natalie fight the mutts and watched Kaleb put her out of her misery. Then she saw herself try and help Maria from dying but failed, the Lily's taunting death of Kaleb. She watched her and Sia's fight and finally her and Lily's. the screen goes black, and she hastily wipes the tears off her face. The anthem blares and the president steps out of the shadows.

She stands still staring into the elderly eyes of the president. His grandson stands a little ways away, watching her with snake-like eyes. The victors crown is a brilliant gold, and shines brightly under the lights. The crowd holds its breath as the crown is placed on her perfectly curled head. The crowd erupts into a roar. She smiles lightly and waves in their direction. Flowers fall around her feet, and she watches the flash of color everyone leaves as the fall to the floor. There's hands on her leading her through a tunnel, Mags' hands to be exact. Her smile drops and she begins to sob. She needs to go home. Now.

xx**The next Day**xx

Towner beams wildly out of the window as District Four rolls into view. She's dressed in a simple sundress, and her hair is pulled into a side braid. She wears sandals, which help her imagine the sand between her toes. She squeals with delight as the train begins to slow, and they roll into the station. She rushes to the doorway with a slight chuckle from Mags. "Looks like we'll be neighbors." she says with a wink. Towner's smile only grows. With a slight pop! The doors slide open. She deafened by her district's cheers. Her eyes light up as she spots her family off to the side. Coron's there, his hair tousled and green eyes steady. She vaguely remembers and kiss on the cheek and an "I love you." in the goodbye's room. Did he really mean it? She rushes down the stairs of the train, and sprints full-force towards her family. Almost like second-nature, Coron's arms open, and she jumps into them, wrapping her legs around his waist, and arms around his neck. His arms surround her and she buries her head into the crook of his neck. Her family wraps their arms around the both of them, creating an awkward group hug. All she's aware of is Coron's breath tickling her ear as he whispers those familiar words. "I love you." she smiles lightly. "I love you too." Her family removes their arms and she untangles herself from Coron. She looks up at him. His green eyes are focused on her, and only her. Her escort interrupts the moment. "We should get moving yes?" but Towner blocks her out because she see's her. Kai's little sister. Mia.

Her feet start moving towards the girl before she can process what she's doing. She taps the younger girls shoulder lightly. "Your brother was a good man. He deserved to be here. Just as much as me." she says to Mia. Mia lifts her gaze and locks eyes with her. Their just like his, only red from crying. "Thank you," she says smally. Towner turns to walk away when Mia stops her. "I'm glad you won though. You deserved it so much more." with that, Mia Rose melts into the crowd, like a ghost, the girl is gone.

**Sooo thoughts? I'd love to hear them!**

**~Kendyl~**


	27. The End Is Here

**Its here! (Finally!) The last chapter! So like, its basically the victory tour n stuff. Guess what's going up? The tribute form for the 24****th**** games. Sooo yeah! Happy reading!**

Towner groaned as her prep team pulled the last of her leg hair off. They had done this a week ago when the Capitol interviewers came to interview her over her "talent". Towner was never exactly amazing at anything in particular, sure she could tie up a net and throw a spear, but who in Four couldn't? She ended up drawing, seeing as how she was semi-good at the topic. It was mediocre at the most but you know, noone's perfect.

A light tap at the door snapped her out of her trance. The door creaked slightly when it opened, and Coron side-stepped into the room. He smiled at her and she practically melted. It had been six months and she still felt as if it were yesterday when he told her he loved her. Always had. It was strange that this perfect boy was hers, yet right somehow. She could never see him with someone else. It just didn't fit together quite right. She realized she was staring and adverted her eyes and blushed fiercely, earning a chuckle from her Coron.

She sat up with a start, and was at once thankful she had remembered to put on a robe. Could you imagine if she hadn't? "Hey!" she said quickly, she sounded garbled in her mind. "Hey," Coron started cooly. "Look what I've got." he said showing of a large white garment bag. Her face broke out into a smile. "Well, let's see what I'm wearing to District 12!" she said springing up to meet him where he was standing by the door. He unzipped the zipper and she gasped.

The dress was a sleek brown, and the material looked as if it were silk. From what she could tell, it had a pleasant slit up one side, and it was strapless. A small crystal embellishment adorned around the middle. She quickly snatched out of his grip and let the garment bag fall to the spotless floor. "Its so beautiful!" she exclaimed, twirling it by the hanger end. "Yes darling beautiful, now hurry it up and put it on. We don't have much time until the train comes!" a member of her prep team chirped. She nodded once, and made a shoo gesture towards Coron. Taking the hint, he slipped out the down just a calmly as before. She shrugged her robe off, letting it fall to the floor freely. She quickly slipped on the dress, and for once, she had guessed the fabric correctly. She was handed a pair of brown fashion boots, which she slipped on with ease. One of her prep team slipped a crystal clip into her now curly honey-blonde locks. "Fabulous!" the prep exclaimed. With that, they rushed out of the door and clambered down the stairs.

*IN DISTRICT 12*

Towner coughed quietly and blinked several times trying to adjust her eyes to the musty air of district 12. She had heard many rumors about this district but didn't know how true they were until now. Children ran barefoot, people looked half dead on the side of the dirt paths, and worst of all, were the coalminers. Their tin lunched pails clanged as the hit the side of the miners legs. They were worked to the bone, Towner could tell, with sunken eyes and severely scarred hands. She turned quickly to Mags who read her expression like a book. "I know dear. Trust me, I know." Towner nodded in response and bowed her head not wanting to look at their starved frames anymore. She could feel all their eyes on her, piercing through her like an arrow. Their gazes made her want to confess her deepest secrets and she bit her tongue stifling a scream that was rising in her now dry throat. The shorter they were here, the better.

She tapped the microphone once and suddenly the whole square was quiet. She took a shaky breath and glanced around. Her eyes locked with the five-year-old standing in the family section. She knew instantly it was Natalya's little brother. They looked exactly alike. She flitted her eyes away. The pain was becoming unbearable. "Hello there District 12!" she said pasting a fake smile on her face. It dropped just as soon as it came. "I wish to give you my deepest condolences over the fate of your two tributes." she said not meeting anyone's eyes. "Though I did not really know either tribute, I'm positive they were truly spectacular people. I wish you the best!" she said wrapping up the short speech. The mayor approached with a small plague and a dozen assorted flowers which she took and hugged close. This district opened her eyes a bit. Suddenly, there were sounds of shouts, and noise vibrated through the square. At this moment, she felt a tug on her dress. It was that little boy. "Do you know where my sissy is?" he asked innocently. Towner thought she was going to cry. She crouched down to his level, and set her gifts aside. She grabbed his small hands. "Listen to me okay? Your sister was a great person and was a gift to this world. The angels needed her so bad they just could not wait. She's with them now." she said blinking back tears. He bobbed his head and a man that must have been his father took his hands from hers. "Let's go Wyan." he said to the boy. He looked at her. "Thank you." he mouthed and she nodded to him. "Wyan." she repeated. "What an interesting name." and with that, she hopped on the train and out of district 12.

*IN DISTRICT 11*

Towner clicked her teeth together nervously as she waited for the stage to completely be set up. She picked non-existent fuzz of her overly flashy dress. Its full skirt came to a rest just above her knee caps and shimmered due to the layering of fabrics. The top was supported by thin black straps which led to a black bodice with white swirls. The fabric in the skirt was also black and white. It was stunning, if she was going to district 1, but she was here, with more starving people to look at. It sickened her to no end.

She found herself looking over at the families that had assembled to remember the unfortunate tributes. Two younger boys stood motionless with their heads bowed. They looked well fed, and crispily dressed. Chesh's brothers she decided. A proud looking man stood behind them. His brown hair was cropped short, and his hazel eyes were trained forward. His chin was turned upright, making it known he was a proud man. But he looked sad and tired. Downright empty. His daughter had been the cleverest of them all, making one wrong move that cost her life. Had she not done so, she would have been the one standing here instead of Towner. Next to that family stood a sadder one. A weeping woman was being held up by a man Towner guessed was her husband. An elderly women stood close to them eyeing the couple closely. She seemed at ease yet extremely tired, as if she was acting to stay controlled. Maybe she was, Towner didn't know. She felt a wave of guilt even though she wasn't responsible for Thomas' death. He left a grandma to deal with depressed parents. Cruel.

The crowd clapped half-heartily as Towner finished her brief speech. She hadn't had much to say, considering she had nothing to do with either tribute. Since they had skipped the dinner in 12, they decided to stay for this one. She was led into the justice hall which opened up into a grand dining room. The scent of food filled the air and Towner perked up realizing her hunger. They were quickly escorted to a large table where hot food was waiting. Towner's mouth watered. Mags chuckled at her as she quickly filled her plate to the brim. "My, my girl. Leave some for us." Mags jokes piling a bit of mashed potatoes on her plate. "I will." she said before popping a bit of turkey into her mouth. Mags laughed once again and returned to eating her food.

Towner allowed her eyes to wander throughout the dining hall. They came to rest on the families she had seen earlier. They all sat at a table tucked into the shadows, none of them talked just ate their food. She glanced at her table whom were in a deep conversation, and excluding her. She scrunched up her face. She picked up her plate and stood up, walking towards the table where the families were. Taking the last chair, she plopped herself down and continued eating. They all stared at her in utter confusion, except Thomas' grandmother. She placed her hand over Towner's. "You are one of the good ones my dear." she said almost sternly. Towner looked to her in confusion. She shook her head. "I killed the most people in that arena," she stated "well, I tied with Lily actually but that's neither here nor there." Thomas' grandmother just shrugged. "But you don't see yourself above us, why, you came and sat next to us didn't you?" The grandmother asked the corners of her lips turning upwards. Towner found herself smiling too. She was accepted here. A crash ruined the moment.

It was her escort, who had sat up so abruptly, It had caused her plate to shatter on the ground. "We are _completely _off schedule!" she announced running across the room to Towner. "Up you go!" she said yanking Towner up and dragging her away. She looked one last time at Thomas' grandmother wishing she had caught her name.

*IN DISTRICT 10*

Towner dreaded going to District 10. Not only did she kill one of the tributes, but now she would stand before them rubbing the victory in their faces. Oh joy.

The air was hot, and she was grateful that the dress her stylist had made was strapless, short, and flowed. The dress itself was white, with a sweetheart neckline, with golden braided leather decorating the top. She wore tan boots, and her hair was done up in an up-do. She sighed as she climbed the steps and stood off to the side waiting for the mayor to call her over for her speech. "...May I present to you Miss Towner Hills of District 4!" their mayor announced and began clapping. The rest of the people did the same. She smiled and waved as she walked the short distance to the microphone. "Hello District Ten." she said looking out into the crowd. As common as her own home, she found herself looking over at the side of the stage where the families stood. There was Tanith, Cecily's niece. Towner gave the girl a small smile. The girl returned it. Towner did not look at the rest of Cecily's family, no she looked and George's. She killed him, well, more like put him out of his misery but still.

The parents did not stare at her with resent though, they stared at her with compassion. She squeezed her right hand tighter. In it held a patch of George's clothing. Mags had gotten all the tributes she had killed tokens. George didn't have one though so she had a square of his shirt from the reaping. She had requested a sit down with all the parents and give back the tokens. She also had their district partner's. If she was going to sit down with one she might as well sit down with the other.

"I would like to thank you for not looking at me like a monster because I killed one of your tributes," she began. "He was severely injured and I wanted to put him out of his misery." she stopped and stared at the crowd who had became very quiet. She took a deep breath. "So thank you. Most districts do not have that kind of forgiveness. Maybe they should." she stepped back and looked one last time at the people gathered there. They all smiled and Towner had never felt warmer.

Her leg went up and down as she tapped it impatiently on the ground. She had been told Cecily's family would be in first so, in her hand she held Cecily's token, a small ring inlaid with topazes. She turns it over and over again in her palm. The door creaked open and in walked Tanith. "Hello." the younger girl greeted curtly. "Hi." Towner said back and out stretched her hand. Tanith shuffled forward and swiped the ring out of Towner's hand. "Thank you." Tanith whispered starting for the door. Towner just nodded and watched the other leave.

After about two minutes, a door open and shut again. Towner looked up and smiled briefly before holding out her hand. George's mother walked forward shakily, and took the square of fabric. "Thank you. You don't know how much this means." his mother said smiling as she rubbed the fabric between her fingers. Towner nodded. "'Tis the least I could do." Towner smiled then and his parents left shortly after, and only then did she realize that she had tears streaming down her face.

*IN DISTRICT 9*

The crowd clapped half-heartedly as Towner put the wraps on her victory speech. The words bled together in her mind, allowing herself to say the words on auto-piolet. She didn't have much to say, after all district nine was one of the most boring districts in Panem, so the whole ordeal only lasted a short while.

She hadn't killed anyone in this district, which meant she would not have to face the sorrow faced families that stood only a few paces away. She had put herself up to the others, figuring she owed them that much. For their parents and families to have the last piece of the child.

The dinner was quite bland, all of the foods had grain stuck in somewhere, so she chatted with Mags through most of it. Only when she had started to lift a spoonful of soup to her mouth, did things get interesting.

"Are you the princess I've been seeing on the Tv?" a small voice asked from Towner's left. She turned her head sharply to the side almost flinging the spoon across the room. Her nerves had been on edge ever since the games.

The little girl who had spoke looked up at her with full blue eyes that sparkled with disbelief. Her blond hair was in pigtails on either side of her head, and she wore a sky blue dress to match her eyes. _Kole's sister _she realized. "I suppose I am. And who might you be?" Towner asked bending down so she was eye level with the little girl.

"I'm Cami." she announced proudly resting her hands on her small hips. "My daddy told me that Kole had went a fought a dragon, and with his help, you escaped your tower!" she said giddily.

Towner smiled sadly. "He sure did, Cami, he sure did. He was the bravest knight I've seen in my whole life." Cami beamed. "Now he's with mommy!" she clapped her hands.

"...In a world so much better than our own."

*IN DISTRICT 8*

"I realized that helping her might as well have been a death wish, but I couldn't help myself. No one deserves such a slow agonizing death like that," _no one deserves to die at all, _she added silently as she addressed District 8. "I don't have much to say on Scorpio, except that I'm sure he was a well-mannered, delightful person." she concluded.

"Ha." she whipped her head to the right, staring at the families. The older gentlemen that stood for Scorpio had been the one to laugh. _Hadn't Scorpio said something about his grandfather...? _she shook her head and looked back to the crowd. "I'm sorry for your losses, and I appreciate your hospitality." she finished and took a step back away from the microphone.

The crowd clapped, but she heard the ever-present fake ness in it. She didn't blame them, she'd have done the same thing. Mags touched her shoulder gently, and told her District 8 did not have enough food to spare at the moment, and that they were already behind schedule by a day. Technically, they should be in District 7, so that's where they were going to go.

She nodded, and followed closely behind her mentor. Somebodies hand brushed her shoulder causing her to turn. "Thank you." It was Maria's mother. The corners of Towner's mouth twitched upwards. "You're welcome." she said lightly and left to travel on to the next district. She was dreading it.

*IN DISTRICT 7*

"I hate you!" "Lily should have won!" "Doesn't your district have enough victors?" Towner's heart beat fast as her heels clicked on the steps of District 7's stage. These people hated her she knew, she had killed their last hope right before the end. She deserved this, she thought herself no better than them, or Lily for that matter, but she wanted out.

The mayor did not meet her eyes as he handed her flowers and a plaque, she honestly didn't want to speak, what would she say anyways? "I know you all must hate me," she began and was met with a chorus of boo's. she ignored them and raced on. "I did what I had to do, and had she been standing up here she would have experienced this in my own district." she took a breath.

"I'm sorry. I don't care if you don't believe me but I am sorry." she inhaled. And exhaled. "There isn't much to say, but thank you for not killing me." she spun quickly away from the mic, and looked helplessly and Mags. _Time to give back the tokens,_ she thought

The wooden door creaked open, and Lily's siblings walked in. She saw the hate and resentment that burned in their eyes and she wanted to curl into a ball and cry. Her shaking hand extended out, and she uncurled her fingers that were holding the pin. "Here." she said quietly. Lily's sister raced forward and snatched the pin away. "I hate you." she spat. "I know."

"You should be dead. Not her." her brother joined in. "I should."

"You're a coward! Defend yourself!" he screamed at her. "No. Leave."

His eyes flared. "I'd love to. C'mon Liv. She'll probably just whore around with the Capitol men." he motioned for his sister to leave. She turned back to Towner briefly and whispered, "But thanks for her token." then they were gone.

Towner was numb and unaware the whole time Drake's father was in the room. She handed back what token it is he had, and that was that. She ate the dinner they provided, and got onto the train without a second thought.

*IN DISTRICT 6*

District 6 was a blur of faces and noise, her apology for killing Sebastian, her condolences for Libra's death etc. She wanted nothing more than to go back on the train and sleep for a good week. She was exhausted, her feet ached, and she had had enough of male drunk victors from the districts hitting on her. Even if a district had only two victors, you better believe the guy was on her.

She ate soup and bread, joked with her party of people, observed members of the district, and so on. Everything was routine at this point, nothing seemed to change. All too soon, she was back on the train zipping away to district 5.

She groaned loudly and flopped back onto the sofa. Mags sat at the edge and handed her a cup of tea. Towner took a sip and nearly spit it up. "_What_ is in this?" she spluttered sitting straight up. Mags chuckled.

"Sleep medicine. Tastes nasty, works like a charm." she winked. Towner wrinkled her nose in disgust, but drank it up anyway.

"Now to bed with ya." Mags said shoving her in the general direction of her bedroom. Towner grinned lazily and hit the walls a couple times, before finding her door, ripping it open, and collapsing onto the bed.

*IN DISTRICT 5*

Lights flashed, clapping droned on, flower scent filled the air, her meaningless words, and the gazes of people whirled around her in a wonderment of sight and sound. Each district the same. She had always wondered why the victors looked like death when they returned to their home districts. Now she knew why.

Mags walked by her always, taking some of the slack weight as Towner leaned up against her. Mags was too kind for her own good, how does someone like that come out of the Hunger Games? How did they make it past the bloodbath?

She had only been four when Mags became a victor, so she didn't remember a thing about her games. Towner decided she wanted to know, she would ask on the train ride to 3.

She glanced across the justice hall to where the fallen tributes families were eating. Ariana's stern-faced uncle, glaring at his salad. Reiyn's adoptive parents, not touching a thing on their plates. The Hunger Games didn't just kill the kids, they killed the families.

"Mags, what...what was your expeirence in the arena like?" Towner asked. Mags' eyes shot open and landed on Towner's startled face. "Horrible sweet. Just plain horrible. No need to think of the past though, just keep moving into the future." Mags closed her eyes again.

Towner didn't pry, but heaved a heavy sigh and closed her own eyes. If only moving forward were that easy.

*IN DISTRICT 3*

"I am sorry for the losses of both Leigha and Sawyer. From our brief interactions, they seemed to be very kind people." Her voice held no meaning. She felt a million miles away from this spot. She'd wished the train to stop at District 4, so she could fling herself at her brothers and cuddle up with Coron at night.

The crowds clapping brought her back to reality, and she smiled a smile she knew didn't reach her eyes. District 3 could care less about her. They only had one victor to represent their entire district. And he was crazy. Or so she had heard.

Dinner blurred by her. Small talk was exchanged, not filling foods were ate, and soon she felt she might scream. "I'm going outside for some air." she announced and pushed her chair away from the table. She scampered out of the front doors, and took a deep breath of factory smog. She choked. And spluttered. She had forgotten about this air.

"Ashleigh! Come back here!" a girl called giving chase after a small white dog. The dog rushed past Towner and skidded around a street corner. The girl chasing it stopped and caught her breath. "That's the sixth time this week!" the girl complained slumping to the ground. "Lei's not coming back! She's dead! You hear me? Dead!" the girl choked on her words.

Her eyes lifted and she finally noticed Towner. "You're the girl who won right? District 4?" she asked stumbling to get up off the ground. Towner nodded. "Lei should be here. Not you." the girl spat as tears rolled down her cheeks. She gestured towards the train. "You better get going. Your adoring fans are waiting." she turned to leave.

"Wait!" Towner called after her. The girl turned slowly. "What?" she asked wiping the tears away. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Aviva." she turned and left.

*IN DISTRICT 2*

Cheers. That's all this District was full of. They loved seeing a winner.

No one had come to claim Sia's token, and it burned a hole in Towner's pocket. Kaleb's dad disowned him as soon as he heard Kaleb had proposed to Delilah. Delilah had killed herself. Two tokens sat in her pockets. She didn't want them there. Not at all.

*IN DISTRICT 1*

Towner was 99% sure she had hallucinated District 1's festivities. The whole place was alight, welcoming a vicious killer. Her. Her memory wore thin, and by the time the Capitol's tallest buildings were insight, last night was nothing more than a dream.

*IN THE CAPITOL*

"Miss Towner Hills! Back so soon?" Gary asked and smiled brightly as she sat. "I'm like a moth to a flame with this place!" she exclaimed with false enthusiasm. Gary didn't notice.

"How's life in victor's village?" she beamed. "Splendid! The house is quite spacious." The volley of fake hit between them for 10 more antagonizing minutes, and Towner was half sure she was going to collapse from exhaustion any minute now.

The ball was marvelous, with so much food she could afford to never eat again in her lifetime. Half way through however, there was a tap on her shoulder. "The president would like a word," the gentleman said already leading her out of the ballroom.

"Now Miss Hills, It has been brought to my attention that you are most desirable in the Capitol. Do you accept my offer or not?" "If I don't?" He grinned.

"Why, Miss Towner Hills' whole family was killed in a boating accident? How sad."

*IN DISTRICT 4*

The day was as hot as ever, and the president still hadn't called. She hid her nervousness with activities with her siblings but when the phone rang she nearly vomitted. "Hello?"

"Miss Hills, have you reached a decision?" She cast a glance at her family, running around in the yard, Coron beaming at her through the window. She let a tear fall. "I'll do it." the line clicked dead.

She slumped to the floor. "Boom." she muttered

**THE END BWHAHAHAHa**


End file.
